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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. kid — child
  3. rash — a series
  4. fine — all right
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rash — hasty
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. fine — high quality
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. plane — a tool
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. prune — to trim
  17. file — a tool
  18. mine — for digging
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bore — to drill
  24. mine — an explosive

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