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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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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: cell · wind · pass · fine · calf · bore · march · arm

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. pass — to succeed
  2. bore — to drill
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. pass — a permit
  6. march — the month
  7. fine — all right
  8. wind — moving air
  9. march — music
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. fine — high quality
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. march — the month
  18. cell — a phone
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wind — moving air
  23. calf — a young animal
  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