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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bore — to tire
  3. deal — to handle
  4. wound — an injury
  5. net — in sport
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. net — for catching
  9. sharp — clever
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. bore — to drill
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. wound — an injury
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bore — gave birth

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