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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wind — moving air
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. present — there
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pound — a weight
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. present — the time now
  15. field — for sport
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bore — to drill
  18. present — a gift
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bore — to tire
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. sharp — clever

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