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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. tube — a container
  4. season — in sport
  5. spell — a short time
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bore — to drill
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bore — to tire
  12. spell — letters
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. season — of the year
  18. tube — the underground
  19. row — a line
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. row — to paddle
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. spell — magic
  24. bore — gave birth

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