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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. clip — a video
  5. ball — a great time
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pop — music
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. pop — soda
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. ball — a dance
  20. pop — to visit
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. clip — to cut
  24. trunk — of a tree

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