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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to tire
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. rash — hasty
  11. prune — to trim
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bore — to drill
  16. rash — a series
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. mine — for digging
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bowl — a football final

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