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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. bore — to drill
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bore — to tire
  9. wake — a trail
  10. pit — a hole
  11. file — a tool
  12. object — to protest
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. degree — from a university
  15. object — a thing
  16. prune — to trim
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mark — a trace
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. mark — a grade
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. prune — to trim
  24. object — an aim

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