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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: file · march · wake · game · bore · ruler · stem · net

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. net — after costs
  4. game — a match
  5. march — music
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — in sport
  9. bore — to tire
  10. march — the month
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. file — a document
  14. game — wild animals
  15. file — a line of people
  16. march — the month
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. wake — a trail
  20. stem — to come from
  21. file — a tool
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bore — to drill

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