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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. band — a ring
  3. bore — to tire
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. track — a song
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. season — of the year
  10. track — a path
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cell — a phone
  13. march — music
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. band — a music group
  21. fork — in a road
  22. track — to keep track
  23. season — in sport
  24. fork — to eat with

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