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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: mine · tear · saw · bore · foot · cell · nail · rash

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. mine — for digging
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. bore — to drill
  6. foot — a measure
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bore — to tire
  9. cell — in biology
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. saw — the tool
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rash — a series

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