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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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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: bore · chest · clip · net · leaves · drill · shower · cabinet

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. shower — rain
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. net — in sport
  13. clip — for paper
  14. net — for catching
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. chest — of your body
  17. clip — to cut
  18. net — after costs
  19. shower — to wash
  20. clip — a video
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. chest — a box

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