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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bore — to drill
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. wind — moving air
  8. drill — a practice
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bore — to tire
  11. file — a document
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. shower — rain
  15. file — a tool
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. shower — to wash
  22. drill — the tool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. drill — army training

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