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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bore — to tire
  3. net — in sport
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — in music
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. net — after costs
  8. lie — to recline
  9. saw — the tool
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. drill — army training
  15. saw — the tool
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. scale — size or range
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. net — for catching
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. kick — in football
  22. bore — to drill
  23. drill — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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