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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.

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: pitcher · land · chair · kick · clip · bore · date · wake

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — to tire
  3. clip — a video
  4. wake — a trail
  5. clip — for paper
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. land — to come down
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. kick — in football
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. land — a country
  24. land — ground

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