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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. prune — to trim
  3. race — a contest
  4. bat — the animal
  5. present — the time now
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. march — the month
  8. race — the arms race
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. present — there
  12. pop — music
  13. race — humankind
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bore — to tire
  16. pop — soda
  17. march — the month
  18. pop — to visit
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. march — music
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. present — a gift

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