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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. wind — moving air
  4. snap — to click
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bore — to drill
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. current — happening now
  11. game — a match
  12. current — of water
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. current — electric

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