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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.

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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 · mug · bore · branch · chest · tear · sharp · pop

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bore — to drill
  3. mug — to rob
  4. pop — to visit
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pop — soda
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. chest — a box
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bore — to tire
  12. clip — a video
  13. mug — a face
  14. branch — a division
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. pop — music
  18. tear — to rip
  19. sharp — clever
  20. tear — from crying
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. clip — to cut
  23. mug — a cup
  24. branch — of a tree

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