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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. key — for a lock
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. march — the month
  6. bore — to drill
  7. kid — to tease
  8. march — the month
  9. band — a ring
  10. present — a gift
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bore — to tire
  13. band — a music group
  14. kid — child
  15. key — in music
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. key — the most important part
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. present — there
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. date — the fruit
  22. present — the time now
  23. march — music
  24. band — a rubber band

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