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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. court — for sport
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. can — to be able to
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. can — a tin
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bore — to drill
  8. can — a tin
  9. bore — to tire
  10. net — in sport
  11. court — of law
  12. prune — to trim
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. court — of a king
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. prune — to trim
  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