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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. clip — to cut
  4. plane — a tool
  5. clip — a video
  6. bore — to drill
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. pass — a permit
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. current — electric
  11. cold — an illness
  12. squash — to crush
  13. stem — to come from
  14. squash — the sport
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bore — to tire
  17. current — of water
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. current — happening now
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. cold — not warm

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