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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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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: net · key · bore · bound · calf · last · bat · prune

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. key — for a lock
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bore — to drill
  8. key — the most important part
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. key — in music
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bound — obliged
  13. prune — to trim
  14. last — to go on
  15. bat — the animal
  16. net — in sport
  17. last — final
  18. net — for catching
  19. bound — tied together
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bound — certain
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. last — finally

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