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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to tire
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bore — to drill
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fall — to drop
  13. board — a committee
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pitch — completely
  16. net — in sport
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. board — to get on
  19. net — for catching
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fall — the season
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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