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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 · charge · prune · bat · bowl · lie · file · season

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. file — a tool
  3. bore — to drill
  4. season — of the year
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. charge — in control
  12. charge — a price
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. charge — electricity
  15. prune — to trim
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bore — to tire
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. season — in sport

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