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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. object — an aim
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pit — in a race
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. clip — to cut
  10. file — a tool
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. object — a thing
  14. pitch — completely
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bore — to drill
  20. file — a document
  21. pit — a hole
  22. object — to protest
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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