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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: present · bore · row · season · drill · shower · wind · pound

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bore — to tire
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. row — a line
  6. present — the time now
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. drill — army training
  9. shower — rain
  10. season — in sport
  11. drill — the tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pound — a weight
  14. drill — a practice
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. present — a gift
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. row — to paddle
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wind — moving air
  22. present — there
  23. season — of the year
  24. pound — for dogs

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