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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. cell — a phone
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. degree — temperature
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. degree — from a university
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cell — in biology
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. pound — a weight
  20. bore — to tire
  21. fork — in a road
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. degree — an amount
  24. patient — a sick person

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