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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to drill
  5. clip — for paper
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. capital — money
  10. suit — clothes
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wound — an injury
  13. clip — a video
  14. rock — music
  15. suit — in cards
  16. mate — a partner
  17. capital — a city
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mate — to breed
  20. suit — to fit
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. bore — to tire
  24. rock — a stone

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