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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — for digging
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. net — after costs
  7. shower — to wash
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. shower — rain
  10. bound — obliged
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. net — in sport
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. march — the month
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bound — certain
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bore — to drill
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bound — tied together

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