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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: wake · root · lean · mug · cold · tear · bore · stock

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mug — to rob
  5. bore — to drill
  6. stock — goods
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bore — to tire
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mug — a cup
  13. root — of a word
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. root — of a plant
  17. stock — shares
  18. root — the cause
  19. mug — a face
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. tear — from crying
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to rest against

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