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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. spring — of water
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rule — a law
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bore — to drill
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — government
  12. spring — the season
  13. prune — to trim
  14. band — a music group
  15. bore — to tire
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. spring — a coil
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. prune — to trim
  24. band — a ring

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