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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cold — not warm
  3. current — happening now
  4. bore — to tire
  5. mine — for digging
  6. prune — to trim
  7. lean — thin
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. prune — to trim
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — a thing
  12. cold — an illness
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bore — to drill
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. current — electric
  19. pitch — completely
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. object — an aim
  22. lean — to bend
  23. current — of water
  24. bore — gave birth

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