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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bore — to tire
  3. last — final
  4. kid — child
  5. shower — to wash
  6. roll — a list
  7. bore — to drill
  8. track — a path
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. shower — rain
  11. bank — for money
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. roll — a cake
  16. bank — of a river
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kid — to tease
  19. track — to keep track
  20. tear — from crying
  21. last — to go on
  22. track — a song
  23. bank — for money
  24. last — finally

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