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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: land · arm · bowl · bass · craft · row · tear · bore

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. land — to come down
  5. craft — a skill
  6. craft — boats
  7. land — ground
  8. row — a line
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. tear — from crying
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — low music
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. tear — to rip
  21. land — a country
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. row — to paddle

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