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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.

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: drill · land · wind · object · kid · bore · hand · press

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. hand — help
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. land — a country
  6. object — an aim
  7. bore — to tire
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bore — to drill
  10. press — newspapers
  11. kid — child
  12. press — a publisher
  13. drill — army training
  14. land — ground
  15. object — to protest
  16. object — a thing
  17. wind — moving air
  18. press — to push
  19. wind — moving air
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. drill — the tool

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