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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: bear · wake · pitcher · land · prune · fan · chair · bore

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bore — to drill
  7. wake — a trail
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bear — the animal
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bore — to tire
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. land — a country
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. prune — the fruit
  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