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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 116 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bore — to tire
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — for pool
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cold — not warm
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cue — a signal
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cold — an illness
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bore — to drill

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