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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 124 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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Word bank
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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: bowl · roll · bore · wind · ground · rash

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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. rash — on the skin
  4. bore — to tire
  5. rash — a series
  6. roll — a cake
  7. roll — a list
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bore — to drill

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