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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 ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. prune — to trim
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. clip — a video
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — to drill
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. content — happy
  18. tube — a container
  19. prune — to trim
  20. content — the amount
  21. clip — to cut
  22. kick — in football
  23. tube — the underground
  24. clip — for paper

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