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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bore — to drill
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. scale — in music
  11. bore — to tire
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. rash — a series
  14. scale — size or range
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rash — hasty
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. arm — part of the body

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