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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — in music
  6. bore — to tire
  7. pop — music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. scale — size or range
  10. clip — a video
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bore — to drill
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — to visit
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pitcher — a jug

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