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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. drill — the tool
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. spring — the season
  7. drill — a practice
  8. spring — a coil
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. bore — to tire
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bore — to drill
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. spring — of water
  17. drill — army training
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. foot — a measure
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chair — to sit on

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