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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.

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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: bat · stick · row · charge · clip · bore · cold · kid

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. clip — to cut
  4. kid — child
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bore — to drill
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. charge — electricity
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. cold — not warm
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. clip — for paper
  18. charge — a price
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. clip — a video
  22. charge — in control
  23. kid — to tease
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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