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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bore — to tire
  3. cap — of ice
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — hurry
  6. file — a document
  7. spell — letters
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. cap — a hat
  11. spell — a short time
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — for catching
  15. chest — a box
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. chest — of your body
  18. current — of water
  19. current — electric
  20. chest — of your body
  21. spell — magic
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. current — happening now

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