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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. saw — the tool
  5. march — music
  6. spring — of water
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bore — to tire
  9. foot — a measure
  10. bore — to drill
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. spring — the season
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. wound — an injury
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. march — the month
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cabinet — ministers

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