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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. stock — shares
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pass — a permit
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. drill — the tool
  8. present — there
  9. present — a gift
  10. wind — moving air
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. present — the time now
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. drill — army training
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. stock — goods
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bore — to drill
  24. drill — a practice

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