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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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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: present · shower · cold · bore · lie · kid · stick · prune

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bore — to tire
  3. prune — to trim
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bore — to drill
  9. present — the time now
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cold — an illness
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. lie — to recline
  18. kid — child
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. present — a gift
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. present — there

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