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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bore — to drill
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. stem — to come from
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. season — in sport
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. season — of the year
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. march — the month
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. band — a ring
  14. bore — to tire
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. march — music
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. march — the month
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. spring — of water
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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