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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bank — for money
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bore — to drill
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. drill — a practice
  11. march — the month
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bank — of a river
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. drill — army training
  16. shower — to wash
  17. drill — the tool
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wake — a trail
  21. shower — rain
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. nail — for a hammer

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