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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. last — finally
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. clip — a video
  8. bore — to drill
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bore — to tire
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. game — wild animals
  14. last — to go on
  15. rush — hurry
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wound — an injury
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. last — final
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wound — an injury

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