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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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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: pop · sharp · foot · bore · wind · stock · cold · lie

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. pop — to visit
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bore — to tire
  14. pop — soda
  15. bore — to drill
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. foot — a measure
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. stock — shares
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pop — music
  23. lie — to recline
  24. cold — an illness

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