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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. saw — the tool
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — magic
  6. bore — to drill
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. bark — to shout
  11. net — after costs
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. snap — to click
  16. saw — the tool
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. ball — a dance
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. net — for catching
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. pass — a permit
  23. net — in sport
  24. ball — a great time

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