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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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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: face · pit · cold · dip · mouse · tear · lash · bore

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. face — part of the head
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. cold — an illness
  11. face — to confront
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cold — not warm
  14. dip — to sink
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bore — to tire
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bore — to drill
  21. tear — from crying
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. tear — to rip
  24. lash — an eyelash

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