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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bore — to tire
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — to crush
  8. game — a match
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bore — to drill
  11. plane — a tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ground — the earth
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. sharp — clever
  19. game — wild animals
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bowl — to roll

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