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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to tire
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. clip — for paper
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. suit — to fit
  11. bat — the animal
  12. current — happening now
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. land — ground
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. suit — clothes
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bore — to drill
  19. clip — a video
  20. current — electric
  21. suit — in cards
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  24. current — of water

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