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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 120 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bound — obliged
  5. wake — a trail
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bore — to tire
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bound — certain
  15. net — for catching
  16. mark — a trace
  17. prune — to trim
  18. net — after costs
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. race — the arms race
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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