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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: lean · sharp · saw · bore · wake · cold · tear · root

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. sharp — clever
  3. root — the cause
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bore — to drill
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — to bend
  12. bore — to tire
  13. root — of a word
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wake — a trail
  17. lean — thin
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. root — of a plant
  20. saw — the tool
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. cold — not warm
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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