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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. 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. fall — to drop
  2. bore — to drill
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lie — to recline
  8. fall — the season
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. cold — an illness
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cell — a phone
  18. 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