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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: hand · bore · straw · mouse · tube · swing · court · drill

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. swing — in golf
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bore — to drill
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. hand — in cards
  8. tube — a container
  9. court — of law
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. bore — to tire
  12. swing — to play on
  13. hand — help
  14. drill — the tool
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. drill — army training
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. court — for sport
  20. drill — a practice
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. swing — music
  24. court — of a king

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