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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cell — a phone
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. cell — in biology
  5. shower — rain
  6. drill — a practice
  7. present — a gift
  8. face — to confront
  9. drill — army training
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. present — there
  13. bore — to drill
  14. shower — to wash
  15. face — to point toward
  16. wind — moving air
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bore — to tire
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. present — the time now
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. face — part of the head

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