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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. clip — a video
  6. kid — to tease
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bear — the animal
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. game — a match
  17. board — to get on
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. kid — child
  20. board — a committee
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. game — wild animals
  24. fan — a supporter

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