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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. track — a path
  4. wound — an injury
  5. suit — clothes
  6. kick — in football
  7. clip — to cut
  8. track — a song
  9. shower — rain
  10. track — to keep track
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. suit — in cards
  14. bore — to drill
  15. suit — to fit
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bore — to tire
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. shower — to wash

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