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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chest — of your body
  3. march — the month
  4. mate — to breed
  5. spring — the season
  6. pass — a permit
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. mate — a partner
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pop — music
  13. bore — to tire
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pop — to visit
  16. spring — a coil
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bore — to drill
  19. pop — soda
  20. spring — of water
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. chest — of your body
  23. march — music
  24. chest — a box

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