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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 116 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. tear — from crying
  5. swing — in golf
  6. spell — magic
  7. bore — to tire
  8. field — a subject
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. field — farmland
  11. hand — in cards
  12. swing — music
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — a short time
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. clip — to cut
  17. tear — to rip
  18. hand — help
  19. tear — from crying
  20. swing — to play on
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. clip — a video
  24. field — for sport

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