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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. court — of law
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. wind — moving air
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. court — of a king
  17. snap — to click
  18. ball — a dance
  19. court — for sport
  20. ball — a great time
  21. hand — help
  22. tube — the underground
  23. degree — an amount
  24. tube — a container

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