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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. file — a tool
  3. spring — of water
  4. lean — thin
  5. bore — to drill
  6. mug — to rob
  7. tube — the underground
  8. mug — a face
  9. bore — to tire
  10. clip — a video
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. mug — a cup
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. file — a document
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. tube — a container
  18. clip — for paper
  19. file — a line of people
  20. clip — to cut
  21. deal — to handle
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. deal — a big deal

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