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

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. spring — a coil
  3. net — after costs
  4. band — a ring
  5. bore — to drill
  6. lean — to bend
  7. net — in sport
  8. band — a music group
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. date — the fruit
  11. net — for catching
  12. spring — the season
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. lean — thin
  16. rash — a series
  17. bore — to tire
  18. spring — of water
  19. rash — hasty
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. hand — help
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. hand — in cards

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