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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bore — to drill
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wake — a trail
  8. ball — a great time
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. prune — to trim
  13. file — a line of people
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. file — a document
  17. game — a match
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bore — to tire
  24. file — a tool

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