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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 116 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: march · drill · rush · fine · bark · lie · bore · board

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. board — a committee
  4. fine — high quality
  5. drill — the tool
  6. board — to get on
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. fine — all right
  9. march — the month
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. drill — army training
  13. bore — to tire
  14. march — music
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. march — the month
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lie — an untruth

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