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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bore — to drill
  3. fall — to drop
  4. file — a tool
  5. fall — the season
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — a country
  9. fall — to drop
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. net — in sport
  14. band — a ring
  15. land — ground
  16. net — for catching
  17. file — a document
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. file — a line of people
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. bore — to tire
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. band — a music group

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