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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. clip — to cut
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bore — to drill
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. clip — a video
  9. spring — the season
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. drill — the tool
  12. spring — of water
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bore — to tire
  15. lean — to bend
  16. mine — for digging
  17. drill — army training
  18. clip — for paper
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. lean — thin
  24. mine — belonging to me

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