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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 · season · kid · roll · ground · face · jam · swing

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — to tire
  3. kid — to tease
  4. swing — in golf
  5. kid — child
  6. ground — the earth
  7. swing — music
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. season — in sport
  11. roll — a cake
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. swing — to play on
  16. face — to confront
  17. season — of the year
  18. ground — a position
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. ground — crushed
  22. face — part of the head
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. roll — a list

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