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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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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: spring · bore · rush · hand · pit · trunk · snap · clip

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bore — to drill
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. clip — a video
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. pit — in a race
  8. hand — help
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. spring — the season
  11. bore — to tire
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. clip — for paper
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. snap — to click
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. hand — in cards

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