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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. clip — for paper
  3. present — there
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. present — the time now
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. game — a match
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bore — to tire
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. present — a gift
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. race — humankind
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bore — to drill
  18. race — a contest
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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