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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. march — music
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wound — an injury
  5. march — the month
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. saw — the tool
  8. game — wild animals
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. tube — the underground
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bore — to tire
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. tube — a container
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. game — a match
  22. march — the month
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. nail — for a hammer

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