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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bore — to drill
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. content — happy
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bore — to tire
  8. prune — to trim
  9. content — the amount
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. squash — the sport
  16. scale — in music
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — on your feet

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