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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 116 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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. pop — music
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wind — moving air
  6. band — a music group
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bore — to drill
  9. perch — the fish
  10. degree — an amount
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bore — to tire
  16. pop — to visit
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pop — soda
  20. tear — from crying
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. perch — for a bird

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