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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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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: wound · bore · object · wake · kid · club · clip · press

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. object — to protest
  4. wake — a trail
  5. club — for golf
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. clip — to cut
  8. club — for dancing
  9. wound — an injury
  10. kid — to tease
  11. clip — for paper
  12. club — a group
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — to push
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. clip — a video
  17. object — an aim
  18. bore — to tire
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bore — to drill
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. kid — child
  24. object — a thing

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