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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: bat · last · roll · bore · rash · mine · rest · hand

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bore — to drill
  3. rash — a series
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. roll — a cake
  11. last — to go on
  12. bore — to tire
  13. mine — for digging
  14. last — finally
  15. rest — what's left
  16. hand — in cards
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. last — final
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. roll — a list
  24. hand — help

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