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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. net — after costs
  5. cold — not warm
  6. root — the cause
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — a committee
  9. root — of a word
  10. net — in sport
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bore — to tire
  13. net — for catching
  14. swing — music
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. present — a gift
  17. present — there
  18. present — the time now
  19. bore — to drill
  20. wound — an injury
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. board — to get on
  24. cold — the Cold War

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