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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. tear — from crying
  3. saw — the tool
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. ground — crushed
  6. kid — child
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. branch — a division
  9. ground — the earth
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. mark — a trace
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bore — to tire
  14. tear — to rip
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. plane — a tool
  18. ground — a position
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. mark — a grade
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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