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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 · pound · wind · clip · pass · bore · bulb · ball

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bulb — for light
  8. hand — help
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pound — a weight
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bulb — for light
  13. ball — a great time
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. ball — a dance
  21. hand — in cards
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. pass — a permit
  24. bore — to drill

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