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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. drill — the tool
  4. pop — music
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. drill — army training
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. kid — child
  17. pop — soda
  18. board — to get on
  19. drill — a practice
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bark — to shout
  24. board — a committee

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