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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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468
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: wave · bore · hand · tear · game · cell · mine · date

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. bore — to drill
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cell — a phone
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cell — in biology
  9. hand — in cards
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. hand — help
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. bore — to tire
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. game — a match
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. date — the fruit
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. date — on the calendar

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