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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. drill — army training
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. clip — to cut
  8. content — the amount
  9. clip — a video
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. wound — an injury
  12. last — to go on
  13. snap — to click
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. last — final
  17. clip — for paper
  18. content — happy
  19. drill — the tool
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bore — to tire
  22. drill — a practice
  23. last — finally
  24. wound — an injury

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