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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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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: capital · band · clip · pit · wind · current · tube · bore

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. clip — a video
  4. tube — the underground
  5. band — a music group
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bore — to tire
  8. current — happening now
  9. pit — a hole
  10. clip — to cut
  11. band — a ring
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wind — moving air
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. wind — moving air
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. current — electric
  19. current — of water
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. tube — a container
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. pit — in a race

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