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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bear — the animal
  7. rash — a series
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — in sport
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. bore — to tire
  20. rock — music
  21. cell — in biology
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. net — for catching

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