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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: mine · pass · prune · march · capital · club · bore · fall

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. prune — to trim
  3. club — for dancing
  4. fall — to drop
  5. march — the month
  6. fall — to drop
  7. club — for golf
  8. capital — money
  9. fall — the season
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. club — a group
  12. capital — a city
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. march — music
  17. bore — to drill
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. pass — a permit
  21. march — the month
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bore — to tire

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