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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bear — the animal
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bear — the animal
  6. net — for catching
  7. capital — money
  8. bore — to drill
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. clip — a video
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. capital — a city
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. ground — crushed
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — rain
  17. bore — to tire
  18. ground — a position
  19. clip — to cut
  20. net — after costs
  21. ground — the earth
  22. net — in sport
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. clip — for paper

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