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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 120 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. content — happy
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. face — to confront
  10. bore — to drill
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bore — to tire
  13. face — to point toward
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stock — goods
  16. tear — from crying
  17. face — part of the head
  18. chair — a leader
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — shares
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. content — the 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