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

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. present — a gift
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. present — there
  6. bore — to drill
  7. present — the time now
  8. rash — a series
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. bore — to tire
  13. fork — in a road
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. rash — hasty
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. spring — a coil
  20. march — the month
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. wax — to grow
  23. march — music
  24. fork — a garden tool

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