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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. last — final
  3. bore — to tire
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. bore — to drill
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. track — a song
  11. rule — government
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. perch — the fish
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. band — a ring
  17. rule — a law
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. kid — child
  21. last — finally
  22. track — to keep track
  23. last — to go on
  24. band — a music group

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