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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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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: mark · clip · rock · cold · season · rush · bore · pound

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. season — in sport
  4. rock — a stone
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rush — hurry
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. season — of the year
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — music
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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