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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spell — a short time
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bore — to tire
  6. kid — to tease
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a line
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bore — to drill
  14. spell — magic
  15. branch — a division
  16. spell — letters
  17. drill — army training
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. kid — child
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. hide — to keep secret

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