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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: key · pound · pitcher · mine · court · bore · spell · drill

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. key — for a lock
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — letters
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. drill — a practice
  7. pound — a weight
  8. spell — magic
  9. drill — the tool
  10. court — for sport
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. key — in music
  13. drill — army training
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. court — of law
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bore — to drill
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. key — the most important part
  24. bore — to tire

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