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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 116 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: clip · mouse · lean · march · face · race · bore · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. bore — to tire
  4. march — the month
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. lean — to bend
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bore — to drill
  10. row — to paddle
  11. clip — to cut
  12. face — to confront
  13. clip — a video
  14. race — the arms race
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. lean — thin
  17. clip — for paper
  18. march — the month
  19. row — a line
  20. face — to point toward
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. face — part of the head
  24. march — music

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