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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. staff — a stick
  3. rest — a break
  4. bore — to tire
  5. craft — a skill
  6. tear — to rip
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. staff — employees
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bore — to drill
  12. rock — music
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. tear — from crying
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. tear — from crying
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. staff — employees
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. rock — a stone
  24. craft — boats

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