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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bore — to drill
  4. field — farmland
  5. chip — to eat
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rush — hurry
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bore — to tire
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. saw — the tool
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. rush — a thrill

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