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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. track — to keep track
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. club — for dancing
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. scale — size or range
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. wind — moving air
  11. club — for golf
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — a division
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. bore — to drill
  16. track — a path
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. wind — moving air
  19. club — a group
  20. track — a song
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. scale — in music

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