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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: tube · last · foot · bore · leaves · march · snap · spring

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. tube — the underground
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. last — finally
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. last — to go on
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. spring — the season
  10. march — the month
  11. bore — to tire
  12. tube — a container
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. march — the month
  15. last — final
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. spring — of water
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. bore — to drill
  22. foot — a measure
  23. snap — to click
  24. spring — a coil

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