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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. scale — size or range
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. drill — a practice
  9. prune — to trim
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bore — to tire
  13. scale — in music
  14. drill — army training
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bore — to drill
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bark — to shout
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. branch — a division
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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