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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: coach · date · mine · wake · prune · swing · fall · bore

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. prune — to trim
  7. date — the fruit
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bore — to tire
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wake — a trail
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. fall — to drop

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