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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mate — to breed
  3. chip — for betting
  4. mate — a partner
  5. hand — in cards
  6. tear — from crying
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — to tire
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mate — a friend
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. tear — from crying

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