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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. net — in sport
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. net — after costs
  6. race — the arms race
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. wax — to grow
  13. race — humankind
  14. bore — to drill
  15. clip — a video
  16. court — for sport
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bore — to tire
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. court — of law
  21. net — for catching
  22. race — a contest
  23. court — of a king
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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