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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. march — the month
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. prune — to trim
  7. march — the month
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bore — to drill
  11. pound — a weight
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. march — music
  15. perch — the fish
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rush — hurry
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. bore — to tire
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. cell — in biology
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. perch — for a bird

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