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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 120 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: tear · bore · patient · march · bound · board · sharp · pitcher

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bore — to drill
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bound — tied together
  5. board — to get on
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. march — music
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bound — obliged
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bound — certain
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. tear — from crying
  17. march — the month
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. tear — to rip
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. tear — from crying
  22. sharp — clever
  23. board — a committee
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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