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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. band — a music group
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bass — the fish
  6. staff — employees
  7. wound — an injury
  8. band — a ring
  9. staff — employees
  10. bass — low music
  11. staff — a stick
  12. bore — to drill
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. march — the month
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. drill — a practice
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. bore — gave birth

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