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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bore — to tire
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bear — the animal
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. shower — rain
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bore — to drill
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. march — the month
  24. bulb — of a plant

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