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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. bore — to drill
  3. spell — letters
  4. track — a song
  5. bore — to tire
  6. spell — a short time
  7. track — a path
  8. foot — a measure
  9. branch — a division
  10. clip — to cut
  11. last — finally
  12. track — to keep track
  13. last — to go on
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. clip — for paper
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. spell — magic
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. last — final
  24. clip — a video

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