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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bore — to drill
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bark — to shout
  6. drill — army training
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. last — finally
  12. chip — to eat
  13. last — final
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. roll — a cake
  19. last — to go on
  20. fine — all right
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. chip — for betting
  24. roll — a list

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