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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: mouse · shower · tear · bore · march · chair · leaves · hand

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. march — the month
  4. hand — help
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. march — music
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. shower — rain
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bore — to tire
  13. tear — to rip
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. tear — from crying
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. march — the month
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. hand — in cards
  23. chair — a leader
  24. tear — from crying

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