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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bore — to drill
  6. last — to go on
  7. snap — to click
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. content — happy
  10. last — finally
  11. suit — to fit
  12. shower — rain
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. content — the amount
  16. tear — to rip
  17. suit — in cards
  18. bore — to tire
  19. last — final
  20. mine — for digging
  21. suit — clothes
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. tear — from crying
  24. content — videos and posts

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