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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. net — after costs
  4. face — to confront
  5. file — a document
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wind — moving air
  8. roll — a cake
  9. stock — goods
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. face — part of the head
  12. file — a tool
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. net — in sport
  15. file — a line of people
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bore — to tire
  18. net — for catching
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. stock — shares
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bore — to drill

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