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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: degree · season · bore · march · rule · lie · row · spring

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bore — to tire
  3. season — in sport
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bore — to drill
  6. march — the month
  7. spring — a coil
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — government
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. degree — an amount
  12. spring — of water
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. rule — a law
  18. season — of the year
  19. spring — the season
  20. row — a line
  21. lie — to recline
  22. march — music
  23. row — to paddle
  24. degree — from a university

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