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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. spring — of water
  3. squash — the sport
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. squash — to crush
  7. tear — to rip
  8. spring — the season
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bore — to tire
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. charge — a price
  17. wake — a trail
  18. spring — a coil
  19. tear — from crying
  20. charge — electricity
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. tear — from crying
  23. shower — rain
  24. charge — in control

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