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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: racket · hand · mine · wound · game · bore · file · tube

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. file — a document
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wound — an injury
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. hand — help
  9. game — wild animals
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mine — for digging
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bore — to tire
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. tube — the underground
  21. game — a match
  22. file — a tool
  23. bore — to drill
  24. tube — a container

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