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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bore — to drill
  3. spring — the season
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. staff — a stick
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. spring — a coil
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. chip — to eat
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. march — the month
  19. spring — of water
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a ring
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. chip — for betting

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