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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bank — of a river
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — for money
  7. net — after costs
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bound — certain
  12. cold — not warm
  13. hand — help
  14. bear — the animal
  15. file — a tool
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. net — for catching
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. net — in sport
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cold — an illness

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