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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. tube — a container
  4. bark — to shout
  5. clip — a video
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. capital — a city
  8. object — a thing
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. press — a publisher
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bore — to tire
  17. capital — money
  18. press — to push
  19. object — to protest
  20. tube — the underground
  21. clip — to cut
  22. object — an aim
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. trunk — 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