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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: kid · toast · drill · bound · perch · stick · band · bark

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. kid — child
  8. toast — bread
  9. band — a music group
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — obliged
  12. drill — army training
  13. bound — certain
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. drill — a practice
  16. band — a ring
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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