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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. charge — in control
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. net — after costs
  5. wound — an injury
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. charge — electricity
  10. charge — a price
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — of water
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. net — for catching
  16. hand — in cards
  17. net — in sport
  18. bore — to tire
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. bore — to drill
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. pound — a weight
  24. spring — a coil

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