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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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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: chest · racket · lie · bore · swing · drill · capital · mouse

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. bore — to tire
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. swing — in golf
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. swing — to play on
  9. capital — a city
  10. chest — a box
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. drill — the tool
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. chest — of your body
  16. capital — money
  17. drill — a practice
  18. lie — to recline
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. swing — music
  23. drill — army training
  24. bore — gave birth

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