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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. drill — the tool
  3. rest — a break
  4. drill — army training
  5. file — a document
  6. land — ground
  7. bass — the fish
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bass — low music
  13. file — a line of people
  14. land — to come down
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to tire
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. drill — a practice
  19. file — a tool
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. land — a country
  23. pass — a permit
  24. wound — an injury

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