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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. cold — an illness
  3. file — a line of people
  4. swing — in golf
  5. net — in sport
  6. hand — help
  7. swing — music
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. cold — not warm
  12. file — a tool
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. plane — a tool
  15. bore — to tire
  16. file — a document
  17. swing — to play on
  18. net — for catching
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. net — after costs

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