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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bore — to tire
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. band — a music group
  8. pop — soda
  9. bark — to shout
  10. pop — to visit
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bore — to drill
  13. pop — music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. band — a ring
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. row — a line
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bass — low music
  24. wound — an injury

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