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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. saw — the tool
  3. prune — to trim
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. last — to go on
  6. net — for catching
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. march — music
  9. last — finally
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. net — after costs
  13. bore — to tire
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. march — the month
  16. last — final
  17. net — in sport
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. march — the month
  22. prune — to trim
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bore — to drill

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