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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. net — for catching
  6. bore — to tire
  7. foot — a measure
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rush — hurry
  10. last — to go on
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wind — moving air
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bore — to drill
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. net — after costs

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