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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. last — final
  3. bore — to tire
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. last — finally
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. last — to go on
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bore — to drill
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spring — the season
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a line
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tear — to rip
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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