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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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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. spell — magic
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. spell — a short time
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. degree — from a university
  9. date — the fruit
  10. mine — for digging
  11. rush — hurry
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. degree — temperature
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — a group
  18. spell — letters
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. club — for dancing
  22. bore — to tire
  23. tear — from crying
  24. degree — an amount

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