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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 124 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bore — to tire
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — a match
  6. net — after costs
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. shower — rain
  13. bore — to drill
  14. net — in sport
  15. shower — to wash
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. hand — in cards
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. wind — moving air
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. snap — to click
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. hand — help

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