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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. net — after costs
  3. wind — moving air
  4. file — a tool
  5. land — a country
  6. wind — moving air
  7. land — ground
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bore — to tire
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pass — a permit
  19. wound — an injury
  20. net — in sport
  21. land — to come down
  22. bore — to drill
  23. net — for catching
  24. wind — to turn a key

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