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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 120 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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. cold — an illness
  3. sharp — clever
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bore — to drill
  8. cold — not warm
  9. shower — to wash
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. clip — for paper
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. shower — rain
  19. bore — to tire
  20. chair — a leader
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. clip — to cut

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