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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. track — a path
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. cold — an illness
  13. track — a song
  14. kick — in football
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bulb — for light
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bore — to tire
  24. pound — a weight

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