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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bore — to tire
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — clever
  10. present — a gift
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. bear — the animal
  14. present — the time now
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. game — a match
  20. bore — to drill
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. present — there
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bass — low music

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