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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. row — a line
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bore — to drill
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mine — for digging
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. court — for sport
  13. content — the amount
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bank — for money
  16. content — happy
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bank — for money
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bore — to tire
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bank — of a river

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