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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · chair · net · coach · clip · wind · bore · hide

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wind — moving air
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. net — in sport
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. net — for catching
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. net — after costs
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. clip — a video
  16. chair — a leader
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wind — moving air
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bore — to tire
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. ball — a dance

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