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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wound — an injury
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. pass — a permit
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kid — child
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wound — an injury
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. kid — to tease
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bore — to drill
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. branch — a division
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pass — to succeed

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