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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. content — the amount
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. game — a match
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. content — happy
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. bore — to tire
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. prune — to trim
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. game — wild animals
  22. pass — a permit
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. pound — a weight

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