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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. band — a ring
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to drill
  8. band — a music group
  9. pop — soda
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. hand — help
  14. pop — music
  15. land — ground
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. land — a country
  18. shower — to wash
  19. pop — to visit
  20. land — to come down
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. mouse — the animal

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