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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: drill · tear · pound · pop · leaves · bear · can · race

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. pop — soda
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. pop — music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. can — a tin
  14. race — a contest
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. can — to be able to
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — humankind
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pound — a weight
  23. can — a tin
  24. bear — the animal

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