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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: kid · wound · deal · clip · bore · rule · pound · bowl

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bore — to tire
  8. wound — an injury
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. kid — child
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. deal — to handle
  20. pound — a weight
  21. rule — government
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. pound — to hit hard

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