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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bore — to tire
  15. fork — in a road
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. firm — a company
  19. firm — steady
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bat — the animal
  23. firm — decided
  24. cold — not warm

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