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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · saw · wind · clip · swing · object · mine · sharp

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. swing — music
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. clip — a video
  11. sharp — clever
  12. saw — the tool
  13. object — to protest
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bore — to tire
  16. object — a thing
  17. saw — the tool
  18. object — an aim
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bore — to drill
  22. swing — to play on
  23. clip — for paper
  24. swing — in golf

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