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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · face · dip · bear · prune · mine · wound · bore

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. face — to confront
  3. bore — to drill
  4. clip — a video
  5. bear — the animal
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bore — to tire
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. prune — to trim
  13. clip — for paper
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. dip — to sink
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bear — the animal
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wound — an injury
  24. prune — the fruit

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