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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. net — after costs
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. spell — letters
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — the time now
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. present — there
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. net — in sport
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. spell — a short time
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. spell — magic
  20. land — to come down
  21. net — for catching
  22. land — a country
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a ring

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