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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: fine · pitcher · wind · bore · spring · sharp · net · face

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. spring — of water
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bore — to drill
  7. face — part of the head
  8. fine — all right
  9. face — to confront
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. spring — a coil
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. face — to point toward
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. fine — high quality
  18. net — for catching
  19. spring — the season
  20. wind — moving air
  21. net — after costs
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. net — in sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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