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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. bear — the animal
  6. clip — a video
  7. court — of law
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. file — a document
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. court — for sport
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bear — the animal
  15. perch — the fish
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. court — of a king
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bore — to tire
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bore — to drill

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