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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: season · bore · tube · march · drill · wound · rush · chip

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. season — of the year
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rush — hurry
  6. drill — a practice
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. chip — to eat
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. march — the month
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bore — to tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — the underground
  17. march — the month
  18. chip — for betting
  19. drill — army training
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. march — music
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. season — in sport

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