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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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. chip — to eat
  4. field — a subject
  5. prune — to trim
  6. field — farmland
  7. chip — for betting
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. spring — the season
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. scale — in music
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. field — for sport
  17. bore — to tire
  18. rule — government
  19. spring — of water
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rule — a law
  22. spring — a coil
  23. scale — size or range
  24. chip — in a computer

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