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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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Word bank
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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bore — to tire
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. bore — to drill
  11. spell — a short time
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — high quality
  16. chest — of your body
  17. dip — to sink
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. rash — hasty
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rash — a series
  24. prune — to trim

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