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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. last — to go on
  3. spring — the season
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. can — a tin
  6. ball — a dance
  7. band — a ring
  8. spring — a coil
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bore — to drill
  11. last — finally
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. last — final
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bore — to tire
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. ball — a great time
  19. can — to be able to
  20. band — a music group
  21. can — a tin
  22. wind — moving air
  23. spring — of water
  24. ball — a round shape

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