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

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. band — a music group
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. scale — in music
  8. band — a ring
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bore — to tire
  11. pit — in a race
  12. kid — child
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bore — to drill
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pit — a hole
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. scale — size or range
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. wound — an injury
  24. coach — a trainer

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