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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 124 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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. file — a line of people
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spring — of water
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. root — of a word
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. file — a tool
  12. bore — to tire
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — farmland
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. field — a subject
  19. file — a document
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. root — the cause
  22. toast — bread
  23. root — of a plant
  24. field — for sport

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