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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 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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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. bore — to drill
  3. tube — a container
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. tube — the underground
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bore — to tire
  8. cold — an illness
  9. drill — a practice
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. mate — to breed
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. mate — a partner
  14. swing — music
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. mate — a friend
  17. swing — in golf
  18. branch — a division
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. swing — to play on
  21. drill — the tool
  22. chair — a leader
  23. branch — of a bank
  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