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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 120 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. land — a country
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. tear — from crying
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. row — a line
  10. bore — to drill
  11. land — ground
  12. mate — a partner
  13. land — to come down
  14. pass — a permit
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. mate — to breed
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bark — to shout
  21. mate — a friend
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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