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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: prune · fall · march · tear · mug · bore · hide · ball

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. march — music
  8. tear — to rip
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. mug — a face
  11. mug — to rob
  12. march — the month
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bore — to tire
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. ball — a great time
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mug — a cup
  21. march — the month
  22. ball — a dance
  23. fall — the season
  24. prune — to trim

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