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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: cabinet · bat · leaves · last · bore · rash · tear · mine

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. last — finally
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. tear — from crying
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bore — to drill
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rash — hasty
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. tear — to rip
  20. rash — a series
  21. last — to go on
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. last — final

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