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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. shower — to wash
  4. ball — a great time
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. land — a country
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. shower — rain
  17. ball — a dance
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. current — of water
  20. bore — to drill
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. current — electric
  23. current — happening now
  24. bear — the animal

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