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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bore — to drill
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. kid — to tease
  6. roll — a list
  7. march — the month
  8. kid — child
  9. rest — a break
  10. bore — to tire
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. band — a ring
  14. drill — the tool
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. roll — a cake
  21. drill — a practice
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a rubber band

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