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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 120 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: drill · content · pop · nail · board · kid · hand · tube

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. drill — army training
  3. kid — to tease
  4. tube — a container
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. board — to get on
  7. hand — in cards
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pop — soda
  10. content — the amount
  11. drill — a practice
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. content — happy
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pop — to visit
  16. hand — help
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pop — music
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. tube — the underground
  22. board — a committee
  23. drill — the tool
  24. kid — child

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