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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bark — to shout
  4. court — of law
  5. tear — from crying
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. court — of a king
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bore — to drill
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. court — 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