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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. club — for dancing
  3. track — a path
  4. march — music
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. club — a group
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bore — to drill
  11. rest — a break
  12. bore — to tire
  13. track — a song
  14. club — for golf
  15. track — to keep track
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. march — the month
  18. rest — what's left
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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