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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. face — to confront
  4. capital — money
  5. cold — an illness
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. swing — to play on
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. capital — a city
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. snap — to click
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. swing — in golf
  16. bore — to tire
  17. cold — not warm
  18. face — part of the head
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. face — to point toward
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — a division
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. swing — music

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