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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: tube · bore · nail · pound · row · present · chair · bowl

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  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. bowl — to roll
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. tube — the underground
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bore — to tire
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. bore — to drill
  11. row — to paddle
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. row — a line
  17. present — there
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. present — the time now
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. chair — a leader
  23. present — a gift
  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