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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: clip · fall · bore · firm · kid · bear · shower · object

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. object — to protest
  6. object — an aim
  7. bore — to tire
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. object — a thing
  15. bore — to drill
  16. firm — decided
  17. firm — steady
  18. clip — a video
  19. fall — to drop
  20. kid — child
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. firm — a company
  24. clip — to cut

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