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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. wind — moving air
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. charge — in control
  7. firm — decided
  8. squash — the sport
  9. hand — in cards
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. charge — a price
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. firm — a company
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. charge — electricity
  21. bore — to tire
  22. firm — steady
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bore — to drill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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