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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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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: ground · cap · kid · wave · wound · pound · tube · bore

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. tube — a container
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — a weight
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — of ice
  13. tube — the underground
  14. kid — child
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. ground — a position
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. bore — to drill

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