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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. march — music
  3. wound — an injury
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. swing — music
  6. march — the month
  7. net — for catching
  8. season — in sport
  9. cell — a phone
  10. march — the month
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. chip — to eat
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. swing — to play on
  17. season — of the year
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. net — in sport
  20. cell — in biology
  21. swing — in golf
  22. wound — an injury
  23. net — after costs
  24. chip — for betting

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