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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.

Words on the sheet
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: march · cold · pound · plane · bore · row · current · land

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. march — the month
  3. land — ground
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. march — music
  6. cold — not warm
  7. land — to come down
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bore — to tire
  11. current — electric
  12. march — the month
  13. row — a line
  14. bore — to drill
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. land — a country
  19. current — of water
  20. current — happening now
  21. plane — a tool
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. plane — in geometry

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