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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: content · leaves · bore · swing · clip · rash · rock · game

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bore — to tire
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — in golf
  9. game — a match
  10. clip — a video
  11. bore — to drill
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. clip — for paper
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. content — happy
  18. rock — music
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. rock — a stone
  23. swing — music
  24. leaves — of a tree

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