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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hand — help
  4. bound — tied together
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bore — to tire
  7. hand — in cards
  8. net — after costs
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. net — in sport
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bound — certain
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — to handle
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. net — for catching
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bore — to drill

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