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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. date — the fruit
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ball — a dance
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bore — to drill
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. band — a ring
  14. chest — a box
  15. drill — army training
  16. bore — to tire
  17. drill — a practice
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. ball — a great time
  20. band — a music group
  21. chest — of your body
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. drill — the tool

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