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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. lean — thin
  3. bore — to drill
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chip — to eat
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. wake — a trail
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — a video
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. chip — for betting
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. wound — an injury
  20. clip — to cut
  21. lean — to bend
  22. bore — to tire
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pound — a weight

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