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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: bear · bore · cap · mug · bark · file · bat · rest

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mug — a face
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bear — the animal
  9. file — a tool
  10. rest — a break
  11. bore — to drill
  12. cap — a hat
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. file — a document
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bat — the animal

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