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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. clip — to cut
  5. snap — to click
  6. bore — to drill
  7. rock — music
  8. bore — to tire
  9. clip — a video
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. spring — the season
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. wax — to grow
  15. shower — rain
  16. clip — for paper
  17. spring — of water
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. spring — a coil

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