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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 116 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: wind · hide · land · dip · bear · row · tear · bore

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. land — ground
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bear — the animal
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. wind — moving air
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bear — the animal
  12. land — to come down
  13. tear — from crying
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. dip — to sink
  18. tear — to rip
  19. land — a country
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. row — a line
  23. bore — to drill
  24. wind — moving air

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