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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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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. wound — an injury
  3. key — for a lock
  4. wound — an injury
  5. row — to paddle
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. row — a line
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. spring — a coil
  13. key — the most important part
  14. spring — of water
  15. bore — to drill
  16. key — in music
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. drill — army training
  19. spring — the season
  20. drill — a practice
  21. sharp — clever
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bore — gave birth

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