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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. mug — a cup
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. mug — to rob
  5. club — for dancing
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mug — a face
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stem — to come from
  14. club — a group
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. club — for golf
  20. kick — in football
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wind — to turn a key

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