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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. roll — a list
  5. bore — to tire
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. clip — a video
  9. file — a document
  10. dip — to sink
  11. file — a tool
  12. roll — a cake
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — to push
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bore — to drill
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. date — the fruit
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. clip — for paper
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. clip — to cut
  24. mine — for digging

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