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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mug — a cup
  3. court — of a king
  4. bore — to drill
  5. chip — to eat
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. chip — for betting
  8. mug — to rob
  9. band — a music group
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. bore — to tire
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cold — an illness
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. swing — music
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. band — a ring
  24. cold — the Cold War

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