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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. press — to push
  5. club — a group
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bore — to tire
  8. tube — a container
  9. march — music
  10. tube — the underground
  11. club — for dancing
  12. press — newspapers
  13. field — farmland
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. field — a subject
  17. club — for golf
  18. prune — to trim
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bore — to drill
  22. march — the month
  23. field — for sport
  24. prune — the fruit

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