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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.

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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wind — moving air
  3. net — in sport
  4. pop — music
  5. bat — the animal
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bore — to drill
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. net — for catching
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. net — after costs
  18. wind — moving air

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