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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wound — an injury
  4. drill — army training
  5. file — a tool
  6. kick — in football
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bat — the animal
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. file — a document
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. content — the amount
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. content — happy

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