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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mine — for digging
  3. ball — a great time
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. ground — a position
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. ground — the earth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. bore — to tire
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. net — in sport
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. net — for catching
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. bore — to drill
  18. season — of the year
  19. ground — crushed
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. ball — a dance
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — in sport

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