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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: clip · sharp · lie · bore · court · wax · drill · pound

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. lie — to recline
  4. bore — to drill
  5. sharp — clever
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wax — to grow
  8. clip — a video
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. court — for sport
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. drill — army training
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. clip — to cut
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. drill — the tool
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. drill — a practice
  24. lie — an untruth

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