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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. land — to come down
  4. file — a tool
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. hand — help
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. hand — in cards
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. saw — the tool
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. file — a document
  19. saw — the tool
  20. land — a country
  21. land — ground
  22. file — a line of people
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — a trainer

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