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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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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: craft · spring · bore · hand · fork · kid · ruler · net

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bore — to drill
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. net — in sport
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. spring — a coil
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. spring — the season
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. craft — boats
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. hand — in cards
  17. spring — of water
  18. craft — a skill
  19. hand — help
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. net — for catching
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. ruler — a monarch

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