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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rush — hurry
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. kid — child
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. clip — a video
  11. spring — the season
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bore — to tire
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bank — of a river
  17. rock — music
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bank — for money
  20. spring — a coil
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. spring — of water
  23. bank — for money
  24. bore — gave birth

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