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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. fine — high quality
  3. snap — to click
  4. lean — to bend
  5. fine — all right
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. lean — thin
  9. cell — a phone
  10. band — a ring
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bore — to tire
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bore — to drill
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. sharp — clever
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. sharp — exactly

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