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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: bat · spell · tear · rule · hand · bore · cold · pitch

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bore — to drill
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — government
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rule — a law
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. cold — not warm
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — magic
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. hand — help
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. tear — to rip
  21. hand — in cards
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. bat — the animal

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