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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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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: foot · clip · drill · march · temple · bore · cold · root

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. root — the cause
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. root — of a word
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bore — to drill
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. bore — to tire
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cold — an illness
  19. root — of a plant
  20. march — the month
  21. clip — for paper
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. cold — not warm
  24. foot — part of the body

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