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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: cold · firm · bore · rest · drill · hand · mine · chair

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. cold — not warm
  3. mine — for digging
  4. firm — decided
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. hand — help
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. firm — a company
  13. drill — a practice
  14. rest — what's left
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. firm — steady
  18. drill — the tool
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — to tire
  22. hand — in cards
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rest — a break

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