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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. band — a ring
  3. bore — to drill
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. press — to push
  6. press — a publisher
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. fork — in a road
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pound — a weight
  16. game — a match
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. bore — to tire
  19. band — a music group
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. press — newspapers
  23. game — wild animals
  24. band — a rubber band

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