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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. face — to confront
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. face — part of the head
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. clip — a video
  12. file — a document
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chair — a leader
  16. face — to point toward
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. file — a line of people
  19. clip — for paper
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bore — to tire
  22. file — a tool
  23. clip — to cut
  24. march — the month

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