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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. clip — a video
  3. bore — to tire
  4. cold — an illness
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. content — happy
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. content — the amount
  19. snap — to click
  20. bore — to drill
  21. cold — not warm
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wind — moving air
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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