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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 120 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  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. spring — of water
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. face — to point toward
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. march — the month
  6. tear — from crying
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a committee
  9. face — to confront
  10. sharp — clever
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. face — part of the head
  16. bore — to drill
  17. spring — the season
  18. bore — to tire
  19. spring — a coil
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. march — the month
  23. board — a flat piece
  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