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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bear — the animal
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. sharp — clever
  6. row — a line
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bear — the animal
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bore — to tire
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bore — to drill
  17. plane — a tool
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. tube — a container

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