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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. face — to point toward
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. craft — boats
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. degree — from a university
  12. march — the month
  13. face — to confront
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. tear — to rip
  16. degree — an amount
  17. march — the month
  18. tear — from crying
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bore — to tire
  21. degree — temperature
  22. march — music
  23. tear — from crying
  24. craft — a handicraft

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