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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bark — to shout
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bore — to drill
  8. stand — to bear
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. bore — to tire
  13. season — in sport
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. band — a music group
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. game — a match
  20. season — of the year
  21. vault — a safe
  22. pit — a hole
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. pit — in a race

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