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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bore — to drill
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. board — to get on
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. fall — the season
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. dip — to sink
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bowl — a football final

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