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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: bore · mouse · lie · chest · season · game · clip · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bore — to drill
  4. clip — a video
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. march — the month
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to tire
  10. season — of the year
  11. lie — to recline
  12. chest — of your body
  13. game — a match
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. season — in sport
  17. chest — a box
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. march — the month
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chest — of your body
  24. game — wild animals

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