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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to confront
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. present — there
  6. present — the time now
  7. clip — a video
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. present — a gift
  10. face — to point toward
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — a thing
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bore — to tire
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. object — an aim
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wake — a trail
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. clip — for paper
  24. cold — an illness

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