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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. pop — soda
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pop — to visit
  7. net — after costs
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — to tire
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bat — the animal
  16. net — in sport
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. branch — a division
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. net — for catching
  22. pop — music
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bear — the animal

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