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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — to tire
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. capital — a city
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. capital — money
  11. tube — a container
  12. snap — to click
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — for sport
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. field — farmland
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bear — the animal
  24. trunk — of a tree

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