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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. face — to point toward
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. face — to confront
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bat — the animal
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mate — a partner
  12. degree — from a university
  13. mate — to breed
  14. degree — temperature
  15. drill — army training
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mine — for digging
  19. drill — the tool
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. mate — a friend
  22. branch — a division
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bat — for baseball

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