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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: nail · bore · last · face · rule · drill · mine · season

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. last — to go on
  4. face — to confront
  5. drill — a practice
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. last — final
  9. season — of the year
  10. rule — government
  11. drill — army training
  12. bore — to tire
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bore — to drill
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rule — a law
  20. season — in sport
  21. drill — the tool
  22. last — finally
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. face — to point toward

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