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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 116 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 · mine · calf · coach · drill · land · chair · sharp

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bore — to drill
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. drill — a practice
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. land — a country
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. land — ground
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. drill — army training
  22. land — to come down
  23. drill — the tool
  24. sharp — clever

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