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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: bat · row · game · key · bore · mug · drill · saw

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. saw — the tool
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. key — in music
  6. game — wild animals
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — the most important part
  9. saw — the tool
  10. drill — a practice
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bat — the animal
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. game — a match
  16. bore — to tire
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — to rob
  19. drill — the tool
  20. row — a line
  21. drill — army training
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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