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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 116 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: shower · drill · current · leaves · kid · bat · bore · content

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  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. bore — to tire
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — the tool
  4. current — of water
  5. content — the amount
  6. bat — the animal
  7. shower — rain
  8. content — happy
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. drill — a practice
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. current — electric
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bore — to drill
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. current — happening now
  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