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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 116 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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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: kid · pass · coach · bore · band · root · mate · march

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. root — of a plant
  5. kid — child
  6. mate — to breed
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. pass — a permit
  11. mate — a friend
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bore — to tire
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. march — the month
  17. mate — a partner
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — the cause
  23. band — a music group
  24. kid — to tease

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