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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: ball · wind · bore · chair · drill · rest · clip · mark

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bore — to drill
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a dance
  10. mark — a trace
  11. rest — a break
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. clip — for paper
  14. chair — a leader
  15. wind — moving air
  16. clip — a video
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. drill — army training
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bore — to tire
  24. rest — what's left

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