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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bore — to tire
  4. fork — in a road
  5. roll — a list
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cell — a phone
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. wind — moving air
  14. degree — from a university
  15. roll — a cake
  16. bore — to drill
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. degree — temperature
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. roll — on a roll

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