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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 120 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. clip — for paper
  3. last — to go on
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. band — a ring
  8. bore — to tire
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bore — to drill
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. net — after costs
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. prune — to trim
  17. last — finally
  18. net — in sport
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bark — to shout
  21. band — a music group
  22. clip — a video
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. last — final

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