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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 116 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bore — to tire
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bore — to drill
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bulb — for light
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. clip — a video
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. prune — to trim

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