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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: drill · bore · march · nail · scale · cell · rest · squash

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. cell — in biology
  3. rest — what's left
  4. scale — size or range
  5. march — music
  6. scale — in music
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. squash — to crush
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. rest — a break
  12. squash — the sport
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. drill — the tool
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. cell — a phone
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — army training
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bore — to tire

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