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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. present — a gift
  3. land — to come down
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stock — shares
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bound — tied together
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. land — a country
  12. present — the time now
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bore — to tire
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bound — obliged
  20. land — ground
  21. stock — goods
  22. present — there
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bound — certain

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