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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · pound · chip · nail · cold · cell

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. chip — for betting
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bore — to tire
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cell — in biology
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bore — to drill
  18. chip — to eat

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