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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bore — to tire
  3. field — farmland
  4. root — of a word
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bore — to drill
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — in sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. swing — to play on
  16. root — of a plant
  17. swing — in golf
  18. lie — to recline
  19. root — the cause
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. field — for sport
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. swing — music

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