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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fall — to drop
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. fall — the season
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bore — to drill
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. snap — to click
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. clip — a video
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. fall — to drop

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