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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: bore · clip · mug · cell · net · shower · firm · spell

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. spell — a short time
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bore — to tire
  5. mug — a cup
  6. bore — to drill
  7. firm — a company
  8. mug — to rob
  9. clip — a video
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. mug — a face
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — steady
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. spell — letters
  18. net — after costs
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. spell — magic
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  24. cell — a phone

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