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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bore — to drill
  5. drill — army training
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — the time now
  8. spring — a coil
  9. ground — a position
  10. bore — to tire
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — a series
  13. ground — crushed
  14. spring — of water
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. spring — the season
  17. rash — hasty
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. present — there
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. drill — the tool
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. ground — the earth

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