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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. board — a committee
  6. pop — soda
  7. bore — to tire
  8. club — a group
  9. spring — a coil
  10. snap — to click
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to drill
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. club — for dancing
  15. spring — the season
  16. pop — to visit
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. spring — of water
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pop — music
  23. club — for golf
  24. board — to get on

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