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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. race — a contest
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bore — to drill
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pit — in a race
  13. clip — a video
  14. chest — a box
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — soda
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pit — a hole
  19. race — humankind
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pop — music
  22. bore — to tire
  23. clip — for paper
  24. face — to confront

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