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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bore — to drill
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pound — a weight
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. spring — a coil
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bore — to tire
  14. spring — of water
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. spring — the season
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. ball — a dance
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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