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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. fall — the season
  3. bear — the animal
  4. track — to keep track
  5. chip — to eat
  6. track — a song
  7. clip — for paper
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pass — a permit
  14. bore — to tire
  15. track — a path
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — for betting
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bear — the animal
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bore — to drill
  23. hand — help
  24. clip — a video

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