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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bore — to drill
  3. present — a gift
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. tube — a container
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wax — to grow
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. clip — a video
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. capital — a city
  17. wake — a trail
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. present — the time now
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. capital — money
  24. present — there

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