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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. pass — a permit
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bore — to drill
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. band — a ring
  19. hand — help
  20. band — a music group
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. hand — in cards
  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