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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. row — a line
  3. file — a tool
  4. pop — music
  5. cell — in biology
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. file — a document
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. pop — soda
  10. bore — to drill
  11. cell — a phone
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. saw — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pop — to visit
  21. drill — army training
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bore — to tire

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