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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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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: cabinet · bat · stem · kick · cold · wax · bore · tear

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  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. bore — to drill
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cold — not warm
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wax — to grow
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. bat — the animal
  18. kick — in football
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bore — to tire
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  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