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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 120 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 ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. drill — a practice
  3. hand — in cards
  4. clip — for paper
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. drill — army training
  9. can — a tin
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. hand — help
  12. band — a music group
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. can — a tin
  16. band — a ring
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. drill — the tool
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. clip — a video
  21. bark — to shout
  22. can — to be able to
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. clip — to cut

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