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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. last — finally
  4. bore — to tire
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. cold — an illness
  9. game — wild animals
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. last — to go on
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. last — final
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. game — a match
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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