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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stick · row · ground · prune · bowl · cold · bore · current

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. bore — to drill
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ground — a position
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bore — to tire
  13. row — a line
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. row — to paddle
  16. current — happening now
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. current — electric
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. current — of water
  24. ground — the earth

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