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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 120 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cold — an illness
  6. branch — a division
  7. snap — to click
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mug — a cup
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mug — a face
  19. bore — to drill
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chair — a leader
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. chair — a professorship

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