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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bore — to drill
  4. lean — thin
  5. clip — for paper
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — in music
  9. clip — a video
  10. pit — a hole
  11. board — to get on
  12. lean — to bend
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. board — a committee
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. clip — to cut
  21. shower — to wash
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. shower — rain
  24. pit — in a race

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