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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 124 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. suit — to fit
  3. object — to protest
  4. last — final
  5. suit — in cards
  6. clip — for paper
  7. object — a thing
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. hand — in cards
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. clip — to cut
  13. last — to go on
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bore — to tire
  18. object — an aim
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. clip — a video
  21. suit — clothes
  22. last — finally
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to drill

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