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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 116 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: mine · hand · wake · cold · bore · current · bowl · deal

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bore — to tire
  4. current — electric
  5. cold — an illness
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bore — to drill
  10. deal — to handle
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. current — of water
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. current — happening now
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. wake — a trail
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. hand — help
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. hand — in cards

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