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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: chest · foot · tube · bore · drill · clip · pit · fine

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. clip — for paper
  3. drill — army training
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. drill — the tool
  7. clip — a video
  8. bore — to tire
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fine — all right
  14. bore — to drill
  15. foot — a measure
  16. pit — a hole
  17. chest — a box
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. pit — in a race
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. drill — a practice
  23. tube — a container
  24. bore — gave birth

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