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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 120 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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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: present · cell · bowl · spell · bore · tear · lie · bat

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. present — a gift
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spell — magic
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cell — in biology
  11. present — there
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. lie — to recline
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. present — the time now
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. tear — from crying

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