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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. drill — a practice
  3. shower — to wash
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. spring — the season
  6. march — the month
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. spring — a coil
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. rock — music
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. march — music
  14. shower — rain
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — to drill
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. spring — of water
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. march — the month

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