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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: chair · net · stand · present · pit · shower · drill · bore

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. net — in sport
  3. drill — the tool
  4. net — after costs
  5. stand — to bear
  6. drill — a practice
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. bore — to tire
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. present — a gift
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pit — in a race
  15. drill — army training
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. present — there
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. present — the time now
  21. bore — to drill
  22. shower — rain
  23. net — for catching
  24. pit — a hole

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