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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. shower — rain
  3. root — of a plant
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. tear — from crying
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fork — in a road
  13. root — of a word
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. root — the cause
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. tear — from crying
  19. saw — the tool
  20. tear — to rip
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bore — gave birth

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