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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bore — to tire
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pound — a weight
  10. tube — a container
  11. land — to come down
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. tube — the underground
  15. spring — the season
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wind — moving air
  18. land — a country
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. bore — to drill
  21. land — ground
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. spring — of water

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