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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a committee
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bore — to tire
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. club — for golf
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mark — a grade
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a trace
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. club — for dancing
  19. tube — the underground
  20. club — a group
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cold — not warm
  23. tube — a container
  24. bark — to shout

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