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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 124 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — to paddle
  4. clip — for paper
  5. suit — to fit
  6. suit — clothes
  7. row — a line
  8. bear — the animal
  9. suit — in cards
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bear — the animal
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — in sport
  18. bore — to tire
  19. clip — to cut
  20. prune — to trim
  21. clip — a video
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bore — gave birth

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