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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. pop — soda
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bore — to drill
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pop — music
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wind — moving air
  12. shower — rain
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pop — to visit
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bore — to tire
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. kid — child
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bat — the animal

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