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

Word bank: drill · swing · bore · object · date · present · cold · cap

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. drill — a practice
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. swing — in golf
  5. present — there
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. cap — of ice
  8. date — the fruit
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. object — an aim
  13. present — a gift
  14. cold — not warm
  15. present — the time now
  16. cap — a lid
  17. drill — the tool
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — to play on
  20. drill — army training
  21. object — to protest
  22. bore — to tire
  23. object — a thing
  24. bore — to drill

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