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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. suit — to fit
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. net — in sport
  5. suit — in cards
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. mate — a partner
  10. net — after costs
  11. suit — clothes
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pit — a hole
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. pit — in a race
  16. kid — child
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. net — for catching
  19. bore — to tire
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. mate — a friend
  22. clip — a video
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bore — to drill

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