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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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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: drill · season · clip · mine · rush · craft · vault · bore

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. vault — a safe
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. craft — boats
  6. rush — hurry
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. season — in sport
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. drill — army training
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. drill — a practice
  20. season — of the year
  21. bore — to tire
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bore — to drill
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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