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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. chest — of your body
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. chest — of your body
  6. key — in music
  7. bore — to tire
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bank — for money
  12. chest — a box
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — to sink
  19. key — for a lock
  20. drill — the tool
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bank — for money
  24. key — the most important part

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