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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: tear · band · perch · bore · kick · root · bat · wake

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bore — to drill
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. root — of a word
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wake — a trail
  8. kick — in football
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tear — to rip
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. band — a ring
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. perch — for a bird

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