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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. shower — to wash
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bore — to tire
  5. object — an aim
  6. can — a tin
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bore — to drill
  11. clip — for paper
  12. can — a tin
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. clip — a video
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. shower — rain
  17. clip — to cut
  18. object — a thing
  19. can — to be able to
  20. object — to protest
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. hide — to keep secret

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