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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · degree · cabinet · fall · racket · wind

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bore — to drill
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wind — moving air
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wind — moving air
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. degree — temperature

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