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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: shower · deal · bore · mark · file · chair · nail · tear

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — a leader
  4. mark — a trace
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. file — a line of people
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. file — a document
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. deal — to handle
  12. file — a tool
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. shower — to wash
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. tear — to rip
  21. shower — rain
  22. mark — a grade
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bore — to tire

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