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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: bark · coach · staff · clip · season · straw · capital · bore

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bark — to shout
  3. season — in sport
  4. clip — a video
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. staff — a stick
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. staff — employees
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. season — of the year
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. staff — employees
  22. bore — to tire
  23. clip — to cut
  24. capital — a city

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