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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 120 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: band · press · racket · bark · bore · wound · cue · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. cue — for pool
  7. bore — to drill
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. press — newspapers
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cue — a hint
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bore — to tire
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — to push
  20. cue — a signal
  21. club — a group
  22. wound — an injury
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. wound — an injury

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