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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. board — a committee
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. mug — a face
  6. mug — to rob
  7. board — to get on
  8. prune — to trim
  9. race — a contest
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bore — to tire
  12. spell — letters
  13. bore — to drill
  14. march — the month
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. spell — a short time
  18. date — the fruit
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. race — the arms race
  21. mug — a cup
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. race — humankind
  24. spell — magic

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