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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: coach · row · march · bore · snap · hand · tear · bowl

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bore — to drill
  15. hand — help
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. bore — to tire
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hand — in cards
  23. snap — to click
  24. march — the month

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