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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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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: bore · capital · prune · net · rule · kid · present · bulb

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. net — in sport
  3. rule — a law
  4. bulb — for light
  5. present — the time now
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. present — there
  9. bulb — for light
  10. capital — money
  11. present — a gift
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to drill
  14. net — after costs
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. capital — a city
  19. rule — government
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. kid — child
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bore — to tire
  24. net — for catching

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