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

Word bank: bay · perch · ruler · kid · hand · capital · bore · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. hand — help
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. kid — child
  10. hand — in cards
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. clip — to cut
  13. capital — a city
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bore — to drill
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bore — to tire
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. capital — money

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