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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. sharp — clever
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. band — a ring
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bore — to tire
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bore — to drill
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — a leader
  17. band — a music group
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. last — finally
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. prune — to trim
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. deal — to handle

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