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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. swing — music
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. track — a song
  5. cell — a phone
  6. swing — to play on
  7. net — in sport
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. net — for catching
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. net — after costs
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. row — to paddle
  16. track — a path
  17. bore — to drill
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. swing — in golf
  22. track — to keep track
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. row — a line

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