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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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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — to paddle
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to bend
  6. club — for golf
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bore — to drill
  9. club — a group
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bat — the animal
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bore — to tire
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. cold — not warm
  24. row — a quarrel

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