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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mug — a cup
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. mug — a face
  8. land — to come down
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mug — to rob
  11. land — a country
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bore — to tire
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. ground — a position
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. wind — moving air
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. prune — to trim
  24. land — ground

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