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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 · snap · tear · spell · staff · hide · field · bear

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. field — farmland
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. tear — to rip
  7. field — a subject
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bear — the animal
  11. spell — magic
  12. staff — employees
  13. bore — to tire
  14. tear — from crying
  15. staff — a stick
  16. field — for sport
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. snap — to click
  20. staff — employees
  21. bore — to drill
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bear — the animal
  24. spell — letters

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