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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. current — electric
  5. rest — what's left
  6. tube — the underground
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. snap — to click
  9. current — of water
  10. current — happening now
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. band — a ring
  14. tube — a container
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bore — to tire
  17. band — a music group
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rest — a break
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bore — to drill
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. tube — in a 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