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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. club — for golf
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bass — low music
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. club — for dancing
  6. drill — a practice
  7. bore — to tire
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. sharp — clever
  10. spell — letters
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wind — moving air
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. spell — a short time
  15. drill — army training
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. drill — the tool
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. club — a group
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bass — the fish
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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