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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: hand · straw · fall · ground · bore · mate · press · clip

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. fall — to drop
  3. clip — a video
  4. ground — a position
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. ground — the earth
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. press — to push
  10. clip — to cut
  11. press — newspapers
  12. mate — to breed
  13. fall — the season
  14. press — a publisher
  15. ground — crushed
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. mate — a friend
  19. hand — help
  20. fall — to drop
  21. hand — in cards
  22. clip — for paper
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mate — a partner

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