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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 116 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. last — finally
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. last — final
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. last — to go on
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. clip — for paper
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. bark — to shout
  20. vault — a safe
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. coach — a trainer

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