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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. clip — a video
  3. bore — to drill
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. bore — to tire
  6. last — finally
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. last — to go on
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — a tool
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. last — final
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. band — a ring
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. patient — a sick person

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