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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. tube — a container
  10. tube — the underground
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bulb — for light
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bore — to drill
  23. prune — to trim
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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