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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  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. bore — to drill
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bore — to tire
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. march — music
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. march — the month
  11. bound — obliged
  12. degree — from a university
  13. shower — rain
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — tied together
  16. march — the month
  17. bark — to shout
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a dance
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. vault — a safe
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  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