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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bore — to tire
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. present — there
  11. drill — a practice
  12. tube — the underground
  13. present — a gift
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bore — to drill
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. land — ground
  18. drill — army training
  19. present — the time now
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. tear — to rip

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