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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. object — to protest
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bore — to tire
  6. can — to be able to
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bore — to drill
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. dip — to sink
  12. wax — to grow
  13. roll — a list
  14. can — a tin
  15. roll — a cake
  16. clip — a video
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. clip — to cut
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. object — an aim
  21. can — a tin
  22. object — a thing
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. clip — for paper

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