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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rule — a law
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. bore — to tire
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. clip — a video
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. rule — government
  17. prune — to trim
  18. clip — to cut
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. clip — for paper
  22. deal — to handle
  23. kid — child
  24. bore — to drill

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