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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bat — the animal
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bore — to tire
  18. spell — letters
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. saw — the tool
  22. mine — for digging
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — a short time

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