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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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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: wind · scale · arm · sharp · bore · straw · stock · land

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bore — to tire
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. scale — in music
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. land — a country
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. stock — shares
  14. land — to come down
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wind — moving air
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. scale — size or range
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. sharp — clever
  21. stock — goods
  22. land — ground
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. straw — a straw man

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