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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. firm — a company
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cue — a signal
  6. wind — moving air
  7. firm — steady
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kid — child
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — hasty
  14. firm — decided
  15. bore — to tire
  16. shower — rain
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cue — for pool
  19. bore — to drill
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. cue — a hint
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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