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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 · foot · file · game · bear · bat · can · prune

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. can — a tin
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bore — to tire
  5. can — a tin
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. file — a tool
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. can — to be able to
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. game — a match
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bore — to drill
  23. foot — a measure
  24. file — a document

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