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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to tire
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. mug — a face
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. mug — a cup
  11. game — a match
  12. fork — in a road
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. shower — rain
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. prune — to trim
  19. swing — in golf
  20. mug — to rob
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — music
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bore — to drill

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