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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. shower — rain
  3. can — a tin
  4. kid — child
  5. spell — magic
  6. bore — to tire
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. shower — to wash
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. bore — to drill
  12. spell — a short time
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. can — a tin
  15. stem — to come from
  16. can — to be able to
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wind — moving air
  20. spell — letters
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pound — a weight

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