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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. land — ground
  3. bore — to drill
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. file — a line of people
  6. court — of law
  7. file — a tool
  8. key — the most important part
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. mate — a friend
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. net — for catching
  15. key — in music
  16. land — a country
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. file — a document
  19. key — for a lock
  20. bore — to tire
  21. mate — a partner
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. land — to come down

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