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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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468
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: racket · mine · last · spell · bore · prune · pound · fork

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bore — to tire
  4. spell — magic
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. mine — for digging
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. spell — a short time
  19. last — final
  20. bore — to drill
  21. fork — in a road
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. pound — a weight
  24. prune — the fruit

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