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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — thin
  3. roll — a cake
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bear — the animal
  7. present — there
  8. prune — to trim
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. bear — the animal
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. roll — a list
  14. prune — to trim
  15. present — the time now
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bore — to drill
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. present — a gift
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. sharp — exactly

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