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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pop — to visit
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. row — to paddle
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. clip — a video
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bore — to tire
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. content — the amount
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bore — to drill
  19. row — a line
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. content — happy
  24. fork — in a road

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