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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. ground — a position
  3. row — to paddle
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. saw — the tool
  7. kick — in football
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. bore — to drill
  11. fall — to drop
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. clip — for paper
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bore — to tire
  16. ground — the earth
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. clip — a video
  19. ground — crushed
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — clever
  22. row — a line
  23. saw — the tool
  24. clip — to cut

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