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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 ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bat — the animal
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lean — to bend
  7. game — a match
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. ground — crushed
  10. lean — thin
  11. last — to go on
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bore — to tire
  16. last — final
  17. game — wild animals
  18. ground — a position
  19. last — finally
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bore — to drill
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. lean — to rest against

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