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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bear — the animal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. shower — rain
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bore — to tire
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. swing — music
  22. degree — temperature
  23. swing — in golf
  24. shower — to wash

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