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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pop — soda
  5. field — farmland
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. pop — music
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bore — to drill
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cue — a signal
  18. bore — to tire
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rash — hasty
  21. cue — a hint
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. cue — for pool

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