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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. clip — a video
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bore — to drill
  9. pound — a weight
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — help
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. wound — an injury
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. clip — to cut
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. hand — in cards
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bear — the animal
  24. clip — for paper

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