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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: pop · hand · bore · ground · fall · land · bat · roll

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. bat — the animal
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. land — ground
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. roll — a cake
  10. pop — music
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bore — to drill
  13. land — to come down
  14. hand — help
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. hand — in cards
  17. roll — a list
  18. land — a country
  19. pop — to visit
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bore — to tire
  22. ground — a position
  23. pop — soda
  24. fall — to drop

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