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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. club — for dancing
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. drill — a practice
  6. club — for golf
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bore — to drill
  9. club — a group
  10. bore — to tire
  11. drill — army training
  12. chest — a box
  13. lean — thin
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. lean — to bend
  21. drill — the tool
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — music

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