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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. tear — from crying
  5. scale — in music
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — hasty
  8. ball — a dance
  9. hand — in cards
  10. snap — to click
  11. tear — from crying
  12. band — a music group
  13. tear — to rip
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. rash — a series
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — to tire
  22. hand — help
  23. ball — a great time
  24. band — a ring

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