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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bear · sharp · bore · coach · capital · spring · wind · march

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. march — the month
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. capital — a city
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. sharp — clever
  9. march — the month
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bear — the animal
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wind — moving air
  15. march — music
  16. capital — money
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bear — the animal

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