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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spring — a coil
  4. row — a line
  5. land — a country
  6. spring — of water
  7. can — to be able to
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. kick — in football
  10. bore — to drill
  11. wind — moving air
  12. land — to come down
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. fall — the season
  15. bore — to tire
  16. fall — to drop
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — a tin
  20. land — ground
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. fall — to drop
  23. row — to paddle
  24. spring — the season

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