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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bore — to tire
  6. pit — a hole
  7. current — electric
  8. current — happening now
  9. snap — to click
  10. clip — for paper
  11. ball — a dance
  12. rush — hurry
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. current — of water
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. ball — a great time
  19. pit — in a race
  20. clip — a video
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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