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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: wound · bore · stand · hand · drill · squash · rest · arm

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. wound — an injury
  10. drill — army training
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. hand — help
  17. rest — what's left
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bore — to tire
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bore — to drill
  24. squash — to crush

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