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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. drill — the tool
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. drill — a practice
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — clever
  15. band — a ring
  16. hand — help
  17. current — happening now
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. drill — army training
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bore — to tire
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  24. band — a music group

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