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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. rush — hurry
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. march — music
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. ball — a dance
  8. root — of a plant
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. mine — for digging
  12. march — the month
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. date — the fruit
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. root — the cause
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. march — the month
  20. bore — to drill
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bore — to tire
  23. root — of a word
  24. ball — a great time

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