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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. suit — in cards
  3. tear — from crying
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. clip — a video
  8. shower — rain
  9. suit — clothes
  10. clip — to cut
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. tear — from crying
  15. degree — from a university
  16. clip — for paper
  17. kid — child
  18. suit — to fit
  19. tear — to rip
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. shower — to wash
  24. vault — a safe

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