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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. pass — a permit
  3. bore — to drill
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bound — certain
  6. band — a music group
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. chest — of your body
  11. hand — help
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bore — to tire
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. chest — of your body
  19. band — a ring
  20. chest — a box
  21. bound — tied together
  22. hand — in cards
  23. kid — child
  24. pass — to spend time

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