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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. drill — a practice
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. cold — not warm
  7. band — a ring
  8. drill — army training
  9. pound — a weight
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bore — to tire
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bore — to drill
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. tube — a container
  23. band — a music group
  24. drill — the tool

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