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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: bore · roll · hand · nail · wave · sharp · row · dip

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  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. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. roll — a list
  5. hand — help
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. row — a line
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. row — to paddle
  14. hand — in cards
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. bore — to drill
  20. sharp — clever
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. dip — to sink
  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