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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. firm — a company
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. cold — not warm
  8. firm — steady
  9. cold — an illness
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. wind — moving air
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — boats
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bound — obliged
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — certain
  21. bore — to drill
  22. firm — decided
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. tube — in a tire

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