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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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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: tear · present · cap · stand · bore · file · plane · kid

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. file — a line of people
  3. tear — from crying
  4. present — the time now
  5. file — a document
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. kid — child
  10. cap — of ice
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. file — a tool
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. cap — a lid
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bore — to drill
  19. kid — to tease
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — there
  22. stand — to bear
  23. plane — a tool
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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