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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. pop — to visit
  4. spell — magic
  5. cell — in biology
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. spell — letters
  8. pop — soda
  9. clip — a video
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mark — a grade
  16. spell — a short time
  17. pop — music
  18. file — a document
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bore — to tire
  21. clip — to cut
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. mark — a trace
  24. cell — a phone

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