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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  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. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. wound — an injury
  4. clip — a video
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bore — to drill
  12. march — music
  13. wound — an injury
  14. stock — goods
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. march — the month
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rush — hurry
  21. stock — shares
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bore — to tire
  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