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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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Word bank
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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 · pound · band · club · sharp · chair · wound · bore

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pound — a weight
  6. sharp — clever
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bore — to tire
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. band — a music group
  12. club — for golf
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. club — a group
  19. drill — army training
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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