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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bore — to tire
  3. season — of the year
  4. hand — in cards
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fork — in a road
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. prune — to trim
  17. hand — help
  18. fork — a garden tool

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