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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. degree — temperature
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. tear — from crying
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. file — a document
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. roll — a cake
  14. tear — to rip
  15. roll — a list
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. snap — to click
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bore — to drill
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. tear — from crying
  24. temple — a place of worship

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