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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 120 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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. prune — to trim
  3. plane — a tool
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ball — a dance
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. squash — to crush
  9. clip — for paper
  10. squash — the sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mine — for digging
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. clip — a video
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. clip — to cut
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bore — to tire
  24. plane — in geometry

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