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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bore — to drill
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. season — in sport
  7. branch — a division
  8. cue — a hint
  9. season — of the year
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cue — a signal
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. cue — for pool
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. bore — to tire

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