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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. drill — the tool
  6. degree — an amount
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. march — the month
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bore — to drill
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. drill — army training
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bore — to tire
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. degree — temperature
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. march — the month
  24. march — 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