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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. clip — a video
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. row — a line
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bore — to tire
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bore — to drill
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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