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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: shower · field · march · pit · branch · hide · bore · spring

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. march — the month
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. pit — in a race
  7. branch — a division
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bore — to drill
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. march — music
  15. pit — a hole
  16. spring — of water
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. field — for sport
  19. bore — to tire
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. march — the month
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. field — farmland
  24. hide — animal skin

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