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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bore — to drill
  6. net — in sport
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. present — a gift
  10. season — in sport
  11. present — there
  12. bat — the animal
  13. present — the time now
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. season — of the year
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bore — to tire
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. mate — a partner
  20. net — after costs
  21. mate — a friend
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. net — for catching
  24. bat — in an idiom

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