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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: court · season · bore · wound · clip · saw · can · chest

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bore — to drill
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bore — to tire
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. chest — a box
  7. wound — an injury
  8. court — of law
  9. chest — of your body
  10. can — a tin
  11. saw — the tool
  12. can — a tin
  13. saw — the tool
  14. season — of the year
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. season — in sport
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. chest — of your body
  24. season — to add flavour

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