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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bore — to drill
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bore — to tire
  9. game — a match
  10. lie — to recline
  11. degree — an amount
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. swing — in golf
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. march — the month
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. degree — temperature
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. game — wild animals
  23. swing — music
  24. patient — a sick person

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