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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 120 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. land — ground
  3. file — a document
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bulb — for light
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. wind — moving air
  11. file — a tool
  12. bass — low music
  13. bore — to drill
  14. land — a country
  15. craft — boats
  16. bass — the fish
  17. land — to come down
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. wind — moving air
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. bulb — of a plant

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