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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. staff — a stick
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. hand — help
  11. staff — employees
  12. club — for dancing
  13. staff — employees
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hand — in cards
  16. row — to paddle
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bore — to drill
  20. sharp — clever
  21. row — a line
  22. club — a group
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to tire

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