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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. kid — child
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bore — to tire
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bore — to drill
  11. net — in sport
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. staff — employees
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. net — for catching
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. staff — employees

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