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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. land — to come down
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. pop — soda
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. tear — to rip
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bore — to tire
  10. season — in sport
  11. land — ground
  12. pop — music
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. season — of the year
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pop — to visit
  17. land — a country
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — a container
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. lie — to recline
  24. tear — from crying

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