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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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Word bank
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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: pit · cold · craft · row · hand · bass · bore · kick

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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. row — a line
  4. row — to paddle
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bore — to tire
  8. craft — boats
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. hand — help
  11. craft — a skill
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bass — low music
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pit — a hole
  22. kick — in football
  23. pit — in a race
  24. row — a quarrel

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