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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. wind — moving air
  3. suit — in cards
  4. shower — to wash
  5. net — for catching
  6. suit — to fit
  7. suit — clothes
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. clip — for paper
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. toast — bread
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pop — to visit
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. pop — soda
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. shower — rain
  22. clip — a video
  23. pop — music
  24. bore — to drill

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