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

Word bank: band · bore · rest · cap · dip · sharp · kid · present

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. band — a ring
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cap — a lid
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. dip — to sink
  11. present — a gift
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cap — of ice
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. bore — to tire
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. band — a music group
  19. kid — child
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. rest — what's left
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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