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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. cold — an illness
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bore — to tire
  11. net — after costs
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. shower — rain
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. net — for catching
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. court — of a king
  22. bore — to drill
  23. shower — to wash
  24. cold — not warm

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