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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. pit — a hole
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. shower — rain
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — to drill
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pound — a weight
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bay — a horse colour

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