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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bore — to tire
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. bore — to drill
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. mine — for digging
  10. cell — in biology
  11. face — to point toward
  12. sharp — clever
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. last — to go on
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cell — a phone
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to confront
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. mine — belonging to me

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