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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bore — to drill
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bore — to tire
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. march — the month
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. kid — to tease
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. prune — to trim
  15. kid — child
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. march — music
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. march — the month
  23. prune — to trim
  24. degree — temperature

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