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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: bear · pound · court · hand · staff · pop · cold · bore

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bore — to tire
  6. pop — music
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. court — of law
  10. hand — help
  11. staff — employees
  12. court — of a king
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bear — the animal
  17. court — for sport
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pop — soda
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. hand — in cards
  23. staff — a stick
  24. pop — to visit

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