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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: lean · pound · season · bore · tear · jam · cold · root

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. root — of a word
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. lean — thin
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lean — to bend
  8. root — the cause
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bore — to drill
  13. cold — an illness
  14. season — of the year
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bore — to tire
  24. season — in sport

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