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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 120 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — to drill
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. tear — from crying
  7. net — for catching
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. scale — in music
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. bound — tied together
  15. tear — from crying
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. scale — size or range
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wake — a trail
  20. tear — to rip
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. bound — certain

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