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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. spell — magic
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. spell — letters
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. firm — steady
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. spell — a short time
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to drill
  20. cold — not warm
  21. firm — a company
  22. firm — decided
  23. prune — to trim
  24. trunk — of a car

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