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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 116 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: shower · bass · kid · tear · bark · root · march · bore

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. bore — to drill
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bore — to tire
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. root — of a plant
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. root — the cause
  12. tear — to rip
  13. march — the month
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bark — to shout
  17. root — of a word
  18. bass — low music
  19. kid — child
  20. shower — rain
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. kid — to tease
  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