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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: bore · spring · tear · bound · mine · pitcher · root · file

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. file — a tool
  3. spring — a coil
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. root — of a word
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. tear — to rip
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bound — tied together
  12. root — the cause
  13. file — a document
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bound — obliged
  19. spring — of water
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bore — to tire
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bound — certain
  24. root — of a plant

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