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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: kid · mine · bore · suit · fan · pop · clip · mate

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pop — soda
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. suit — clothes
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. mate — to breed
  7. pop — music
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bore — to tire
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. kid — to tease
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. suit — to fit
  19. clip — a video
  20. suit — in cards
  21. kid — child
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bore — to drill
  24. pop — to visit

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