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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. wind — moving air
  3. shower — to wash
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. mug — a cup
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pit — in a race
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — army training
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. mug — a face
  13. hand — help
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. drill — a practice
  17. hand — in cards
  18. present — there
  19. mug — to rob
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. present — a gift
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — to tire
  24. shower — rain

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