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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 120 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 is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. track — a song
  3. deal — to handle
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. pitch — completely
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bore — to drill
  8. wind — moving air
  9. track — a path
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bore — to tire
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wound — an injury
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. mine — for digging
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. mine — an explosive

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