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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bore — to drill
  3. mug — a cup
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to tire
  7. row — a line
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. rash — hasty
  11. march — the month
  12. squash — to crush
  13. march — the month
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rash — a series
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. mug — a face
  21. row — to paddle
  22. tear — from crying
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. mug — to rob

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