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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.

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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: pitcher · drill · cold · mug · fan · bore · current · march

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mug — to rob
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cold — not warm
  5. current — happening now
  6. bore — to drill
  7. mug — a cup
  8. cold — an illness
  9. current — of water
  10. drill — a practice
  11. march — the month
  12. drill — army training
  13. march — music
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. current — electric
  18. march — the month
  19. drill — the tool
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bore — to tire
  24. mug — a face

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