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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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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: bulb · wound · mine · cabinet · bat · bore · snap · pop

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. pop — music
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. snap — to click
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. pop — to visit
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. pop — soda
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bore — to tire
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bulb — for light
  24. mine — an explosive

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