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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. march — the month
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. land — to come down
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. band — a music group
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. file — a line of people
  11. band — a ring
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cue — a hint
  14. file — a document
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bore — to tire
  17. land — a country
  18. cue — a signal
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. file — a tool
  22. cue — for pool
  23. land — ground
  24. bore — to drill

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