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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 120 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. kid — child
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bear — the animal
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cue — for pool
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. cue — a signal
  18. kid — to tease
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. row — a line
  21. cue — a hint
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bear — to put up with

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