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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: bore · march · wound · kid · season · rock · tube · rash

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. rock — music
  4. season — in sport
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kid — to tease
  7. march — music
  8. rash — hasty
  9. tube — a container
  10. rock — a stone
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. march — the month
  13. bore — to drill
  14. march — the month
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. season — of the year
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bore — to tire
  19. rash — a series
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. kid — child
  24. wound — an injury

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