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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. mate — a friend
  3. present — there
  4. bore — to drill
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. present — the time now
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. mate — a partner
  11. present — a gift
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. shower — rain
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. mate — to breed
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. fine — all right
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bore — to tire
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — to wash
  24. fine — a penalty

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