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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bore — to tire
  3. current — electric
  4. clip — a video
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. current — of water
  7. march — the month
  8. clip — for paper
  9. spring — a coil
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bank — for money
  12. clip — to cut
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. spring — of water
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bore — to drill
  17. spring — the season
  18. march — music
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bank — for money
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. current — happening now
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. squash — to crush

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