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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bore — to drill
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. drill — the tool
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. squash — to crush
  13. drill — army training
  14. hand — in cards
  15. stand — to bear
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bore — to tire
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. drill — a practice
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. hand — help
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — to shout
  24. racket — for tennis

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