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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. drill — a practice
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. can — to be able to
  7. bore — to tire
  8. drill — army training
  9. fine — all right
  10. net — for catching
  11. drill — the tool
  12. fine — high quality
  13. net — in sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. date — the fruit
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bore — to drill
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. fine — a penalty

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