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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. clip — a video
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mate — a partner
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. clip — to cut
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bore — to tire
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. present — a gift
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bore — to drill
  16. wound — an injury
  17. clip — for paper
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — there
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cap — a lid
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wound — an injury

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