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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 · mine · board · wave · saw · present · pitcher · spring

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. spring — of water
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. spring — the season
  11. present — a gift
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. board — to get on
  15. board — a committee
  16. present — the time now
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. present — there
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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