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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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. spring — the season
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. kick — in football
  9. snap — to click
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. ball — a great time
  12. spring — a coil
  13. staff — employees
  14. spring — of water
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. staff — a stick
  18. bore — to drill
  19. staff — employees
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. ball — a dance
  22. bore — to tire
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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