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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. spring — of water
  3. net — after costs
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. spring — the season
  8. plane — a tool
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. net — for catching
  11. wound — an injury
  12. spring — a coil
  13. net — in sport
  14. rock — music
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rock — a stone
  18. bore — to drill
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. lash — an eyelash

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