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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. mug — a face
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — to drill
  7. spring — of water
  8. band — a music group
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mug — a cup
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. spring — the season
  13. band — a ring
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mug — to rob
  16. net — in sport
  17. spring — a coil
  18. net — after costs
  19. ground — a position
  20. wound — an injury
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bore — gave birth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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