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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: shower · suit · prune · bore · coach · mug · march · cold

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. march — the month
  3. bore — to tire
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — to wash
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mug — to rob
  12. march — music
  13. shower — rain
  14. cold — not warm
  15. suit — to fit
  16. march — the month
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. suit — clothes
  20. mug — a face
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mug — a cup
  23. bore — to drill
  24. prune — to trim

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