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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  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. pound — to hit hard
  2. bore — to drill
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. key — the most important part
  5. file — a tool
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. file — a document
  8. key — in music
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. row — to paddle
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. pound — a weight
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. key — for a lock
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wound — an injury
  22. row — a line
  23. deal — to handle
  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