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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. kid — child
  3. rule — a law
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bore — to drill
  7. band — a music group
  8. drill — the tool
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rule — government
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pit — a hole
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. drill — army training
  22. pit — in a race
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. drill — a practice

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