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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. band — a music group
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. bore — to drill
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. band — a ring
  17. cold — an illness
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bat — the animal
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wave — with your hand

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