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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · tear · bore · land · spring · swing · object · drill

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — the tool
  4. spring — the season
  5. swing — to play on
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. bore — to tire
  11. drill — a practice
  12. object — a thing
  13. swing — music
  14. land — a country
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. swing — in golf
  20. clip — a video
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. tear — to rip
  23. object — to protest
  24. object — an aim

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