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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · bore · rush · arm · fan · net · nail · firm

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rush — hurry
  4. net — for catching
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. firm — decided
  8. net — after costs
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. bore — to tire
  11. firm — steady
  12. cold — an illness
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bore — to drill
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. firm — a company
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. net — in sport

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