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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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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 · bark · kid · pit · land · firm · row

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. bore — to tire
  5. kid — to tease
  6. firm — steady
  7. band — a music group
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — in a race
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. land — to come down
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a ring
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. firm — a company
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. firm — decided
  24. row — a line

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