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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. toast — bread
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wake — a trail
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bore — to tire
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. mate — a partner
  10. prune — to trim
  11. drill — a practice
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bore — to drill
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. drill — the tool
  20. mate — to breed
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. drill — army training

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