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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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. bore — to tire
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. squash — to crush
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. squash — the sport
  9. lean — thin
  10. clip — for paper
  11. capital — money
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — a short time
  14. wind — moving air
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. lean — to bend
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bore — to drill
  19. spell — letters
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. clip — to cut
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. capital — a city

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