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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 124 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. spell — magic
  3. wind — moving air
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. spell — a short time
  7. degree — from a university
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — to tire
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wound — an injury
  14. degree — temperature
  15. spell — letters
  16. scale — in music
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. fall — to drop
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. fall — the season
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wind — moving air
  23. scale — size or range
  24. wound — an injury

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