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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: cell · clip · mug · mate · stick · court · wound · bore

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. mug — a face
  3. cell — a phone
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cell — in biology
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. clip — a video
  9. mug — to rob
  10. bore — to tire
  11. court — of a king
  12. mate — a partner
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mug — a cup
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. court — of law
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bore — to drill
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. court — for sport
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — to breed

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