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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. net — after costs
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bore — to drill
  6. stock — goods
  7. net — in sport
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. stock — shares
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. net — for catching
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bore — to tire
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. march — music
  24. arm — part of the body

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