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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: last · rock · content · bore · court · roll · march · spring

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. march — the month
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. content — happy
  5. rock — music
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. spring — the season
  8. content — the amount
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. last — finally
  12. bore — to tire
  13. spring — a coil
  14. last — final
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — for sport
  18. roll — a cake
  19. march — music
  20. last — to go on
  21. roll — a list
  22. rock — a stone
  23. spring — of water
  24. march — the month

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