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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: kick · drill · pound · fan · sharp · bore · chest · coach

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. drill — the tool
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bore — to tire
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chest — of your body
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. chest — of your body
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. pound — a weight
  18. chest — a box
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. drill — army training
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bore — to drill
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. drill — a practice

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