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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: bat · spell · pit · band · tear · content · bore · leaves

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. spell — a short time
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. spell — letters
  6. tear — from crying
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. pit — in a race
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. content — happy
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to tire
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. content — the amount
  17. spell — magic
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. bat — the animal
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pit — a hole
  23. band — a ring
  24. bat — in an idiom

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