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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to click
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bore — to tire
  6. drill — army training
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — of the year
  18. drill — the tool
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bulb — for light
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. drill — a practice
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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