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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 120 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mug — to rob
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. wind — moving air
  7. firm — steady
  8. firm — a company
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bore — to drill
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. bat — the animal
  17. firm — decided
  18. mug — a cup
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. hand — help
  21. mug — a face
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chest — of your body

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