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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. root — of a word
  3. key — for a lock
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. kid — child
  6. key — the most important part
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bore — to tire
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bass — low music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. kid — to tease
  15. chest — of your body
  16. root — the cause
  17. chest — of your body
  18. key — in music
  19. bass — the fish
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. root — of a plant
  24. chest — a box

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