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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bat — the animal
  3. season — of the year
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. lean — thin
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. lean — to bend
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bore — to tire
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. drill — the tool
  12. kid — child
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. drill — army training
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. drill — a practice
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. prune — to trim
  22. kid — to tease
  23. season — in sport
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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