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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. row — to paddle
  4. rush — hurry
  5. row — a line
  6. hand — in cards
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. bore — to drill
  11. mark — a grade
  12. kid — child
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to tire
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. mark — a trace
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — to grow
  22. net — for catching
  23. hand — help
  24. mark — to pay attention

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