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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bore — to drill
  3. ball — a great time
  4. clip — for paper
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bore — to tire
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. clip — a video
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. clip — to cut
  14. squash — the sport
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ball — a dance
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. chest — a box
  23. squash — to crush
  24. perch — the fish

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