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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: shower · board · wake · cold · bore · field · mouse · suit

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. board — to get on
  3. bore — to tire
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. field — a subject
  7. wake — a trail
  8. field — for sport
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. field — farmland
  12. shower — rain
  13. suit — to fit
  14. shower — to wash
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. suit — in cards
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. board — a committee
  22. suit — clothes
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. mouse — for a computer

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