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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 · chest · press · chip · bore · field · jam · nail

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. drill — the tool
  5. chest — a box
  6. press — to push
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bore — to tire
  10. field — for sport
  11. chip — to eat
  12. field — farmland
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. press — a publisher
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. field — a subject
  19. press — newspapers
  20. drill — a practice
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. bore — to drill
  23. drill — army training
  24. chest — of your body

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