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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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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: chest · mate · dip · bore · fork · ruler · wake · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bore — to drill
  3. clip — for paper
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. bore — to tire
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. mate — a friend
  12. fork — in a road
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. mate — to breed
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. mate — a partner
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. clip — a video
  23. chest — a box
  24. dip — to sink

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