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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: mine · cold · march · temple · bore · board · pitcher · clip

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. march — music
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. board — to get on
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. march — the month
  11. clip — a video
  12. march — the month
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cold — an illness
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mine — for digging
  24. board — a committee

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