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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 116 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bore — to tire
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. clip — a video
  7. drill — a practice
  8. rock — music
  9. rock — a stone
  10. clip — to cut
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. prune — to trim
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. row — a line
  20. bore — to drill
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. drill — the tool
  23. season — of the year
  24. drill — army training

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