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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. chest — of your body
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bore — to drill
  9. season — in sport
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. chest — a box
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. chest — of your body
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. season — of the year
  24. bark — of a tree

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