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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · bore · march · rule · drill · cell

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. cell — in biology
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. cell — a phone
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. rule — government
  11. march — the month
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — army training
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bore — to drill
  16. rule — a law
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cell — in a prison

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