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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: bass · cold · cap · tear · bore · court · drill · lean

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bass — low music
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — to tire
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. court — of law
  11. cap — a hat
  12. tear — to rip
  13. court — for sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cap — a lid
  16. lean — thin
  17. court — of a king
  18. drill — the tool
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bass — the fish
  21. lean — to bend
  22. drill — army training
  23. bass — the instrument
  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