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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: cue · bat · mark · kid · pound · spell · spring · bore

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. spell — letters
  5. cue — a hint
  6. bore — to drill
  7. cue — for pool
  8. spell — magic
  9. spring — the season
  10. spell — a short time
  11. mark — a trace
  12. spring — a coil
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. kid — child
  18. cue — a signal
  19. spring — of water
  20. bat — the animal
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. pound — a weight
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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