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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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468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · fork · march · net · temple · leaves · file · sharp

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. sharp — clever
  3. march — the month
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. fork — in a road
  6. bore — to tire
  7. net — for catching
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. march — music
  11. bore — to drill
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. net — in sport
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. file — a document
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. march — the month
  24. bore — gave birth

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