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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 116 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. can — to be able to
  5. bore — to drill
  6. can — a tin
  7. pop — to visit
  8. land — ground
  9. wake — a trail
  10. land — a country
  11. pop — music
  12. can — a tin
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. pop — soda
  15. bore — to tire
  16. land — to come down
  17. drill — army training
  18. wound — an injury
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. drill — the tool

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