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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. face — to confront
  5. row — to paddle
  6. face — part of the head
  7. cap — a hat
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bore — to tire
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cap — of ice
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. face — to point toward
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bore — to drill
  17. cap — a lid
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. row — a line
  20. bear — the animal
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. prune — to trim

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