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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: bore · shower · spring · stand · season · tear · spell · row

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stand — to bear
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. season — of the year
  6. spring — of water
  7. bore — to tire
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bore — to drill
  10. spell — a short time
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — letters
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. spring — the season
  21. shower — rain
  22. season — in sport
  23. row — a line
  24. tear — to rip

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