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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wind — moving air
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. spring — the season
  8. content — happy
  9. content — the amount
  10. wind — moving air
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bear — the animal
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. hand — help
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. spring — a coil
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — to drill
  23. pitch — completely
  24. spring — of water

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