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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: bore · bulb · deal · band · spring · pound · kid · saw

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. band — a ring
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. spring — the season
  6. kid — child
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bore — to tire
  11. kid — to tease
  12. saw — the tool
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pound — a weight
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. deal — to handle
  18. band — a music group
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — for light
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. spring — of water
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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