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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bark — to shout
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bore — to tire
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. kick — in football
  24. lean — thin

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