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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 116 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: cold · net · bore · straw · mate · mouse · pop · wind

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bore — to drill
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wind — moving air
  6. net — after costs
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bore — to tire
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. mate — a friend
  16. net — for catching
  17. pop — music
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. pop — to visit
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. pop — soda
  24. mate — a partner

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