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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: bore · craft · can · bear · coach · cold · wax · tear

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. craft — boats
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. can — a tin
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — to grow
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bore — to tire
  16. craft — a skill
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bear — the animal
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bear — the animal
  24. can — to be able to

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