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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. tear — to rip
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bore — to drill
  15. row — a line
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. wound — an injury
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. row — a quarrel

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