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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. perch — the fish
  3. last — final
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to tire
  6. tear — from crying
  7. file — a line of people
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. file — a tool
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pass — a permit
  14. file — a document
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. last — to go on
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. last — finally
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. root — of a plant

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