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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — certain
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. march — music
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bore — to tire
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — of a word
  12. bore — to drill
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bound — obliged
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. root — the cause
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. march — the month
  21. prune — to trim
  22. hand — help
  23. march — the month
  24. hand — in cards

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