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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 124 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bear — the animal
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bore — to tire
  6. degree — an amount
  7. clip — to cut
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bear — the animal
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. ground — crushed
  14. wound — an injury
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. degree — from a university
  18. ground — a position
  19. clip — a video
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. fork — in a road

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