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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bound — obliged
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bound — certain
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bore — to drill
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — high quality
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. prune — to trim
  13. drill — the tool
  14. branch — a division
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bore — to tire
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bound — tied together
  22. drill — a practice
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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