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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. spell — a short time
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bore — to drill
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. saw — the tool
  9. spell — letters
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wind — moving air
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. hand — in cards
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. pound — a weight
  22. spell — magic
  23. prune — to trim
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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