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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. can — a tin
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. band — a ring
  6. drill — army training
  7. band — a music group
  8. drill — the tool
  9. can — to be able to
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bark — to shout
  12. net — in sport
  13. bore — to drill
  14. drill — a practice
  15. net — after costs
  16. board — a committee
  17. board — to get on
  18. can — a tin
  19. wax — to grow
  20. net — for catching
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bore — to tire

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