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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 124 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pit — a hole
  4. tear — to rip
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to tire
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — in a race
  10. kid — child
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. clip — a video
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bore — to drill
  17. clip — for paper
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. tear — from crying
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kid — to tease

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