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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. saw — the tool
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. branch — a division
  8. scale — in music
  9. cap — a hat
  10. clip — to cut
  11. band — a music group
  12. bore — to drill
  13. saw — the tool
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. wound — an injury
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. band — a ring
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — of ice
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. wound — an injury

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