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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bat — the animal
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. present — there
  8. fork — in a road
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. tear — from crying
  13. present — a gift
  14. tear — to rip
  15. prune — to trim
  16. content — the amount
  17. bore — to tire
  18. present — the time now
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bore — to drill
  21. ground — the earth
  22. content — happy
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ground — a position

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