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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bore — to drill
  3. bore — to tire
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — a series
  6. season — of the year
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. band — a music group
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. last — finally
  11. prune — to trim
  12. last — final
  13. prune — to trim
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. rash — hasty
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. season — in sport
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. branch — a division
  21. last — to go on
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. branch — of a tree

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