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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 120 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. clip — a video
  4. pass — a permit
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. spring — a coil
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. clip — for paper
  13. deal — to handle
  14. file — a document
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. spring — of water
  17. bore — to drill
  18. spring — the season
  19. file — a tool
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. kid — to tease
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. kid — child

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