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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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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: land · toast · rash · tube · saw · bore · foot · march

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. march — the month
  3. tube — the underground
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. tube — a container
  6. rash — a series
  7. saw — the tool
  8. foot — a measure
  9. bore — to drill
  10. march — the month
  11. bore — to tire
  12. toast — bread
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. march — music
  15. land — a country
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. saw — the tool
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — hasty
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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