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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. file — a document
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — a hole
  7. tear — from crying
  8. shower — rain
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bore — to tire
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. pit — in a race
  18. file — a tool
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bore — to drill
  22. file — a line of people
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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