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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: mine · rush · prune · perch · bore · bat · swing · cue

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. swing — to play on
  3. cue — a hint
  4. prune — to trim
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cue — a signal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bat — the animal
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. bore — to drill
  13. perch — the fish
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bore — to tire
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rush — hurry
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bat — in an idiom

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