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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bank — for money
  3. pop — to visit
  4. cold — not warm
  5. can — a tin
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bank — of a river
  9. cold — an illness
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wound — an injury
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. game — a match
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bank — for money
  16. kid — to tease
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pop — music
  19. can — to be able to
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. kid — child
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. can — a tin
  24. pop — soda

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