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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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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 · hand · bore · chair · field · wind · staff · mouse

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. field — for sport
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. drill — army training
  7. staff — employees
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. field — farmland
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. hand — help
  15. staff — employees
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. field — a subject
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wind — moving air
  21. staff — a stick
  22. bore — to tire
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chair — to sit on

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