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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. drill — army training
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — in football
  9. object — a thing
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. cell — in biology
  15. object — an aim
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pit — a hole
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. object — to protest
  23. cell — a phone
  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