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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: shower · sharp · bore · bulb · straw · kick · hand · wind

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  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. bulb — of a plant
  3. hand — help
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bore — to tire
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. shower — to wash
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. sharp — clever
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. kick — in football
  15. bulb — for light
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bulb — for light
  20. shower — rain
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. hand — in cards
  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