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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bass — low music
  6. bore — to tire
  7. file — a document
  8. tear — to rip
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. mine — for digging
  12. file — a tool
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. chair — a leader
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. file — a line of people
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. snap — to click
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bore — to drill
  24. tear — from crying

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