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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 116 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: hide · fall · saw · wound · drill · rash · cold · bore

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. drill — the tool
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. fall — the season
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. drill — army training
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rash — a series
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. drill — a practice
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. cold — an illness
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fall — to drop
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. rash — hasty

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