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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to tire
  4. last — final
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bore — to drill
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. net — in sport
  9. wound — an injury
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. last — to go on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pit — in a race
  14. last — finally
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. content — the amount
  17. net — for catching
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. content — happy
  21. pit — a hole
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — a sauce

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