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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. squash — to crush
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. kid — child
  5. race — the arms race
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. race — a contest
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. lean — thin
  10. net — in sport
  11. game — wild animals
  12. net — for catching
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. lean — to bend
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to drill
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bore — to tire
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. race — humankind
  24. game — a match

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