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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: present · wave · drill · tube · net · clip · bore · roll

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. present — there
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bore — to tire
  6. drill — a practice
  7. bore — to drill
  8. roll — a cake
  9. clip — for paper
  10. roll — a list
  11. present — a gift
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. clip — a video
  16. net — in sport
  17. tube — a container
  18. drill — the tool
  19. present — the time now
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — for catching
  24. roll — on a roll

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