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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bore — to tire
  4. rest — what's left
  5. spell — letters
  6. net — for catching
  7. foot — a measure
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pass — a permit
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rest — a break
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. spell — magic
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. net — after costs
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. bore — to drill
  21. net — in sport
  22. spell — a short time
  23. kid — child
  24. bore — gave birth

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