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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bore — to tire
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. last — finally
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. content — happy
  9. prune — to trim
  10. content — the amount
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. last — to go on
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. last — final
  16. bore — to drill
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. mine — for digging
  23. hand — help
  24. temple — a place of worship

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