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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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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wound — an injury
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bore — to drill
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. pitch — completely
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. wake — a trail

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