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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 116 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. club — for golf
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. scale — size or range
  5. net — for catching
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — to be able to
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. can — a tin
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. shower — rain
  15. kick — in football
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. net — after costs
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bore — to drill
  20. net — in sport
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. club — a group
  23. scale — in music
  24. club — for dancing

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