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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 120 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cold — not warm
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. ground — a position
  22. capital — a city
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bore — to drill

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