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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bore — to drill
  3. face — part of the head
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. snap — to click
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. field — farmland
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. kid — to tease
  10. field — a subject
  11. bore — to tire
  12. kid — child
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. field — for sport
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — to confront
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. prune — to trim
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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