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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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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: bore · drill · pit · bowl · chest · bat · coach · wake

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bore — to drill
  5. chest — of your body
  6. drill — a practice
  7. chest — of your body
  8. drill — army training
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. wake — a trail
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pit — a hole
  13. drill — the tool
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. pit — in a race
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. chest — a box
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bore — to tire
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. bat — in an idiom

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