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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: row · cold · wake · bore · drill · staff · trunk · bat

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. row — a line
  4. bore — to drill
  5. staff — employees
  6. row — to paddle
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. staff — employees
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. drill — a practice
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. drill — the tool
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. cold — an illness
  19. staff — a stick
  20. wake — a trail
  21. drill — army training
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. row — a quarrel

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