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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. bore — to drill
  4. game — a match
  5. spell — letters
  6. current — happening now
  7. spell — a short time
  8. game — wild animals
  9. cell — a phone
  10. spell — magic
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. current — of water
  13. bore — to tire
  14. clip — a video
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cell — in biology
  19. current — electric
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. clip — for paper

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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