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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. land — ground
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cue — for pool
  5. present — there
  6. bore — to tire
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. cue — a hint
  10. spring — a coil
  11. row — a line
  12. spring — the season
  13. present — the time now
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. spring — of water
  19. game — a match
  20. land — to come down
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. land — a country
  24. present — a gift

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