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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. drill — a practice
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. pop — to visit
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pop — soda
  11. kid — child
  12. capital — a city
  13. pop — music
  14. mark — a trace
  15. saw — the tool
  16. drill — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. mark — a grade
  19. bore — to drill
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. bore — to tire
  22. capital — money
  23. kid — to tease
  24. drill — army training

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