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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 120 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bound — tied together
  4. net — in sport
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. bound — obliged
  8. current — happening now
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. net — for catching
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bore — to drill
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. current — electric
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. current — of water
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bound — certain
  24. cold — the Cold War

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