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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fall — to drop
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bore — to tire
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to drill
  13. degree — from a university
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. game — a match
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. fall — to drop
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. fall — the season
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. game — wild animals
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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