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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. club — a group
  5. bore — to tire
  6. club — for dancing
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. season — in sport
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. season — of the year
  11. drill — the tool
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. spell — magic
  14. key — for a lock
  15. net — for catching
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to drill
  18. key — the most important part
  19. drill — army training
  20. key — in music
  21. spell — a short time
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. club — for golf
  24. drill — a practice

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