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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bore — to tire
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. roll — a list
  5. board — a committee
  6. chip — to eat
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bore — to drill
  9. pound — a weight
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. chip — for betting
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. row — to paddle
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. roll — a cake
  24. board — to get on

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