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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · bore · temple · bark · pitcher · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. race — a contest
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bore — to tire
  13. tear — to rip
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bore — to drill
  16. tear — from crying
  17. race — humankind
  18. temple — a place of worship

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