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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. clip — a video
  3. branch — a division
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mark — a grade
  6. bore — to tire
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. current — electric
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rest — what's left
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. current — of water
  19. current — happening now
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mark — a trace
  22. staff — a stick
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. mark — to pay attention

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