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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bore — to drill
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. face — to point toward
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pit — a hole
  12. face — to confront
  13. spell — a short time
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. row — a line
  17. spell — letters
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. tear — to rip
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. spell — magic
  24. row — a quarrel

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