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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pit — in a race
  4. chip — for betting
  5. march — the month
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bore — to drill
  10. wound — an injury
  11. ground — the earth
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. ground — a position
  14. branch — a division
  15. chip — to eat
  16. file — a tool
  17. pit — a hole
  18. file — a line of people
  19. march — the month
  20. file — a document
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. march — music

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