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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bat — the animal
  4. can — to be able to
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bore — to drill
  7. fine — all right
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. ground — crushed
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. march — the month
  12. fine — high quality
  13. march — music
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ground — a position
  22. march — the month
  23. bore — to tire
  24. sharp — with an edge

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