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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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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: swing · drill · shower · bore · cap · bear · arm · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. swing — music
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. cold — an illness
  6. drill — the tool
  7. shower — rain
  8. cold — not warm
  9. shower — to wash
  10. drill — a practice
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bear — the animal
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bore — to tire
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. drill — army training
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. cap — a lid
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — in golf

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