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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. last — finally
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. prune — to trim
  5. last — to go on
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. band — a ring
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a committee
  14. last — final
  15. drill — the tool
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. drill — army training
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. bore — to tire
  24. drill — a practice

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