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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. cell — a phone
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. clip — a video
  6. fork — in a road
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — army training
  10. bore — to tire
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. kick — in football
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bore — to drill
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cell — in biology
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. cell — in a prison

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