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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. kid — to tease
  4. land — to come down
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. net — in sport
  7. kid — child
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. bore — to tire
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. net — after costs
  17. bore — to drill
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. land — a country
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. race — the arms race
  22. land — ground
  23. fork — in a road
  24. row — a line

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