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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 116 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bore — to tire
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. race — the arms race
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bore — to drill
  14. tear — from crying
  15. race — a contest
  16. degree — temperature
  17. race — humankind
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pit — in a race
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pit — a hole
  24. leaves — lets stay

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