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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. season — of the year
  6. march — music
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. date — the fruit
  9. craft — boats
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bore — to drill
  12. craft — a skill
  13. last — final
  14. last — finally
  15. march — the month
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. march — the month
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. season — in sport
  24. last — to go on

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