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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rock — a stone
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rest — a break
  11. file — a document
  12. band — a ring
  13. clip — a video
  14. rock — music
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. rest — what's left
  17. band — a music group
  18. file — a tool
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bore — to tire
  21. clip — for paper
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pound — for dogs

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