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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. stock — goods
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bore — to drill
  5. clip — for paper
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. face — to point toward
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. clip — a video
  14. prune — to trim
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. prune — to trim
  17. clip — to cut
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spell — letters
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stock — shares

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