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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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. net — after costs
  7. bore — to tire
  8. ground — a position
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rush — hurry
  11. bore — to drill
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. stock — goods
  14. mug — to rob
  15. net — for catching
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. stock — shares
  18. net — in sport
  19. mug — a cup
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. mug — a face
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ground — the earth

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