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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. net — after costs
  3. pound — a weight
  4. net — in sport
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bore — to tire
  9. swing — music
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. craft — a skill
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bore — to drill
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. net — for catching
  16. craft — boats
  17. spring — a coil
  18. court — of a king
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. swing — to play on
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. spring — of water
  23. swing — in golf
  24. arm — part of the body

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