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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pop — soda
  4. row — to paddle
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bore — to drill
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a grade
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bore — to tire
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. shower — rain
  15. pop — to visit
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mark — a trace
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — a line
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. pop — music

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