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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: date · tear · bore · season · hide · bear · kick · chest

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bear — the animal
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bear — the animal
  7. tear — from crying
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. kick — in football
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bore — to drill
  13. season — of the year
  14. tear — to rip
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. chest — of your body
  17. date — the fruit
  18. chest — of your body
  19. season — in sport
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bore — to tire
  22. chest — a box
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. hide — to keep secret

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