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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. file — a tool
  6. deal — to handle
  7. march — the month
  8. present — there
  9. tear — from crying
  10. file — a document
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bore — to drill
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. spring — the season
  16. bore — to tire
  17. present — a gift
  18. tear — from crying
  19. march — music
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. tear — to rip
  22. file — a line of people
  23. present — the time now
  24. spring — of water

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