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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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468
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: file · ball · present · bore · chip · drill · cold · bat

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. present — there
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. drill — a practice
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. present — a gift
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. chip — for betting
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. chip — to eat
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a dance
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. file — a document
  21. bore — to tire
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bat — the animal

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