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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 124 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. prune — to trim
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. tear — to rip
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pound — a weight
  7. spring — of water
  8. tear — from crying
  9. hand — help
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bore — to drill
  13. tear — from crying
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bore — to tire
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. hand — in cards
  22. prune — to trim
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. sharp — clever

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