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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 116 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pop — music
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. net — for catching
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. net — in sport
  8. bore — to tire
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. court — of law
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fork — in a road
  16. court — for sport
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. bore — to drill
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pop — soda
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. court — of a king
  24. row — a line

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