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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: rock · tear · march · bore · wound · snap · saw · chair

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. march — music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chair — a leader
  11. march — the month
  12. saw — the tool
  13. snap — to click
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bore — to drill
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rock — a stone
  18. bore — to tire
  19. saw — the tool
  20. rock — music
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wound — an injury
  23. march — the month
  24. bore — gave birth

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