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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bore — to tire
  3. plane — a tool
  4. kick — in football
  5. land — to come down
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. land — a country
  9. face — to point toward
  10. present — a gift
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. present — the time now
  15. chip — to eat
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bore — to drill
  18. present — there
  19. clip — to cut
  20. chip — for betting
  21. land — ground
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. face — to confront
  24. clip — a video

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