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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  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. pit — a hole
  3. can — a tin
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. last — final
  7. bore — to tire
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. net — after costs
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bore — to drill
  15. clip — a video
  16. net — for catching
  17. pit — in a race
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. squash — the sport
  20. net — in sport
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. clip — for paper

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