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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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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bound — obliged
  6. last — final
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. press — newspapers
  9. file — a line of people
  10. ground — crushed
  11. last — to go on
  12. press — to push
  13. last — finally
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. mine — for digging
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — tied together
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wound — an injury
  21. press — a publisher
  22. ground — a position
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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