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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: straw · wound · craft · bore · arm · spring · present · march

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — to tire
  3. present — a gift
  4. spring — a coil
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. present — the time now
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. spring — the season
  12. march — music
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. wound — an injury
  17. craft — boats
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. craft — a skill
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. present — there
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. spring — of water

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