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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. snap — to click
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. current — of water
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. current — happening now
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. current — electric
  15. bulb — for light
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bore — to tire
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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