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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bore — to tire
  6. land — a country
  7. bore — to drill
  8. wind — moving air
  9. land — to come down
  10. prune — to trim
  11. perch — the fish
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — a lid
  16. land — ground
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wind — to turn a key

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