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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. capital — money
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. ground — a position
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. capital — a city
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. pass — a permit
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bore — to tire
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. chair — a leader
  24. pass — to spend time

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