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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: pound · tube · bore · cap · calf · wake · kid · rule

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wake — a trail
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bore — to drill
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. rule — government
  11. kid — child
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to tire
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — of ice
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — a container
  22. rule — a law
  23. pound — a weight
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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