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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. shower — to wash
  3. rest — what's left
  4. tear — to rip
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rest — a break
  7. tube — the underground
  8. chair — a leader
  9. bore — to drill
  10. spring — the season
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. spring — a coil
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. lie — to recline
  15. rest — what's left
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bore — to tire
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tube — a container
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. spring — of water
  23. shower — rain
  24. lie — an untruth

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