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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · bore · last · bark · bear · clip · net · pop

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  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. last — to go on
  2. net — for catching
  3. pop — soda
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. drill — army training
  6. bear — the animal
  7. net — after costs
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. last — final
  10. bore — to drill
  11. clip — a video
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. last — finally
  19. net — in sport
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bark — to shout
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — to visit
  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