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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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. wind — to turn a key
  4. net — after costs
  5. bore — to tire
  6. lean — to bend
  7. net — for catching
  8. bore — to drill
  9. wind — moving air
  10. track — a path
  11. cap — of ice
  12. key — the most important part
  13. court — of a king
  14. key — in music
  15. track — a song
  16. court — for sport
  17. track — to keep track
  18. lean — thin
  19. cap — a hat
  20. net — in sport
  21. court — of law
  22. key — for a lock
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. cap — a lid

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