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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. net — after costs
  4. hand — help
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. net — in sport
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. net — for catching
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug

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