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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. bore — to tire
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. last — finally
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bark — to shout
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — final
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. date — the fruit
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. march — the month
  23. bore — to drill
  24. trunk — of a tree

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