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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pass — a permit
  4. root — the cause
  5. bore — to drill
  6. track — a song
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. snap — to click
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. root — of a word
  14. march — music
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. march — the month
  19. track — a path
  20. march — the month
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. root — of a plant
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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