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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — for catching
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. bore — to tire
  10. ball — a dance
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. lean — to bend
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — thin
  20. ball — a great time
  21. bore — to drill
  22. net — in sport
  23. hand — help
  24. ball — a round shape

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