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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. hand — in cards
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. shower — to wash
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. clip — to cut
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. hand — help
  11. clip — a video
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bore — to drill
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. prune — to trim
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. shower — rain
  19. row — a line
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. pound — a weight
  22. row — to paddle
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bore — to tire

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