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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: ground · bat · bore · mine · pop · drill · racket · kid

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pop — music
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bore — to drill
  6. ground — a position
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. pop — to visit
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. kid — child
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. ground — crushed
  19. drill — army training
  20. bore — to tire
  21. pop — soda
  22. kid — to tease
  23. drill — a practice
  24. racket — a loud noise

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