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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: plane · bore · net · stand · march · content · jam · clip

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. stand — to bear
  3. bore — to drill
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. clip — to cut
  6. net — after costs
  7. clip — for paper
  8. march — music
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. march — the month
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. clip — a video
  16. content — the amount
  17. march — the month
  18. plane — a tool
  19. content — happy
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. content — videos and posts

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