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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. drill — the tool
  7. net — for catching
  8. chair — a leader
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bore — to tire
  12. net — in sport
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. drill — army training
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. hand — help
  18. bore — to drill
  19. saw — the tool
  20. net — after costs
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. hand — in cards
  23. drill — a practice
  24. chair — a professorship

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