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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. chip — to eat
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — of the year
  7. last — finally
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. net — after costs
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. wind — moving air
  14. net — for catching
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chip — for betting
  17. net — in sport
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. last — final
  20. bore — to drill
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. last — to go on

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