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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. capital — money
  3. craft — a skill
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bore — to tire
  7. band — a ring
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. stock — goods
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — the underground
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. band — a music group
  16. capital — a city
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. craft — boats

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