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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. key — for a lock
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. tube — a container
  7. game — a match
  8. file — a tool
  9. cell — in biology
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cell — a phone
  13. file — a line of people
  14. key — the most important part
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bark — to shout
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bore — to tire
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. file — a document
  23. bore — to drill
  24. key — in 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