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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bore — to tire
  3. clip — to cut
  4. saw — the tool
  5. row — a line
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. row — to paddle
  9. spring — a coil
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. drill — the tool
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bore — to drill
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. vault — a safe
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. clip — for paper

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com