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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. net — in sport
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to tire
  5. mate — a partner
  6. spell — magic
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. spell — a short time
  9. mate — to breed
  10. deal — to handle
  11. staff — employees
  12. mate — a friend
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pitch — completely
  16. spell — letters
  17. net — after costs
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. wound — an injury
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. wound — an injury
  22. net — for catching
  23. bore — to drill
  24. staff — a stick

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