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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. spell — letters
  8. bear — the animal
  9. clip — to cut
  10. drill — a practice
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. swing — music
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. clip — for paper
  15. snap — to click
  16. drill — army training
  17. spell — a short time
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bore — to drill
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. clip — a video
  24. spell — magic

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