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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: wake · file · rock · bat · mine · pitcher · mug · bore

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. mug — a face
  3. file — a tool
  4. mug — to rob
  5. mug — a cup
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wake — a trail
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rock — music
  17. bore — to drill
  18. file — a document
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. rock — a stone
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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