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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: saw · clip · track · drill · bore · patient · shower · chair

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. shower — rain
  3. clip — for paper
  4. drill — a practice
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a path
  7. saw — the tool
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. shower — to wash
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. track — a song
  13. drill — army training
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bore — to drill
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chair — a leader
  18. drill — the tool
  19. clip — a video
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. clip — to cut

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