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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. row — a line
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bulb — for light
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. date — the fruit
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tear — from crying
  17. row — to paddle
  18. court — of law
  19. bore — to tire
  20. march — music
  21. court — for sport
  22. wound — an injury
  23. tear — from crying
  24. court — of a king

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