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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's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. file — a document
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. snap — to click
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. file — a line of people
  10. net — in sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bore — to drill
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — after costs
  16. file — a tool
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. season — in sport
  21. bore — to tire
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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