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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. stand — to bear
  3. bore — to drill
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. bore — to tire
  10. spring — the season
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wind — moving air
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. sharp — clever
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. game — a match
  22. wind — moving air
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cabinet — ministers

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