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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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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: fan · cold · pit · bowl · bore · snap · craft · wind

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. snap — to click
  4. bore — to drill
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pit — a hole
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pit — in a race
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bore — to tire
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. craft — boats
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. craft — a skill

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