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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  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. snap — to speak sharply
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. cold — an illness
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. cold — not warm
  7. saw — the tool
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. branch — a division
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. prune — to trim
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bore — to drill
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. snap — to click
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bowl — a dish
  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