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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 116 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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bore — to tire
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — in sport
  5. bore — to drill
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. spell — a short time
  16. hand — help
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. spell — letters
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. hand — in cards
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. spell — magic

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