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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bore — to drill
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. object — an aim
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. last — to go on
  7. mate — a friend
  8. object — to protest
  9. march — the month
  10. court — of law
  11. march — music
  12. spring — a coil
  13. court — of a king
  14. spring — the season
  15. last — finally
  16. mate — to breed
  17. spring — of water
  18. bore — to tire
  19. march — the month
  20. object — a thing
  21. rash — hasty
  22. court — for sport
  23. rash — a series
  24. mate — a partner

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