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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. net — after costs
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. current — electric
  6. current — happening now
  7. bore — to drill
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. kid — to tease
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. capital — money
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. net — in sport
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. snap — to click
  20. kid — child
  21. bore — to tire
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. current — of water
  24. net — for catching

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