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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kid — child
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mug — a cup
  16. mug — a face
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. land — a country
  19. bore — to tire
  20. hand — help
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. mug — to rob
  23. hand — in cards
  24. fan — to cool the air

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