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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: board · pass · spring · file · bore · march · hand · degree

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. march — music
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. march — the month
  5. bore — to drill
  6. march — the month
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — to get on
  13. degree — from a university
  14. file — a line of people
  15. spring — the season
  16. hand — in cards
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bore — to tire
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — a permit
  22. file — a tool
  23. spring — of water
  24. file — a document

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