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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bore — to tire
  3. net — in sport
  4. bore — to drill
  5. net — after costs
  6. mine — for digging
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cap — a lid
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. lean — thin
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cap — a hat
  15. drill — a practice
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. chest — a box
  18. rule — government
  19. net — for catching
  20. drill — army training
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. lean — to bend
  24. cap — of ice

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