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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. track — a path
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. season — of the year
  7. bore — to drill
  8. season — in sport
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. track — a song
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bore — to tire
  14. sharp — clever
  15. wound — an injury
  16. track — to keep track
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. wound — an injury
  19. band — a music group
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. wind — moving air
  23. band — a ring
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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