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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pit — a hole
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bore — to tire
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bore — to drill
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. fine — all right
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. content — the amount
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. content — happy
  23. clip — a video
  24. bore — gave birth

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