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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. suit — to fit
  5. chip — for betting
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. suit — clothes
  12. land — a country
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bound — certain
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bound — obliged
  19. net — in sport
  20. bound — tied together
  21. chip — to eat
  22. net — for catching
  23. cold — not warm
  24. net — after costs

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