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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wound — an injury
  4. sharp — clever
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. last — to go on
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. last — final
  13. bore — to drill
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. dip — to sink
  24. wake — a trail

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