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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. bore — to tire
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. net — in sport
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. game — wild animals
  7. land — a country
  8. net — after costs
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. staff — employees
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. net — for catching
  16. rush — hurry
  17. staff — a stick
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. land — ground
  21. staff — employees
  22. land — to come down
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. bat — the animal

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