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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.

Words on the sheet
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: cold · saw · arm · bore · pitcher · drill · hide · jam

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cold — not warm
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bore — to tire
  9. drill — the tool
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. drill — army training
  12. cold — an illness
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. saw — the tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bore — to drill
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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