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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: prune · bay · bear · chest · cold · foot · rest · bore

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. prune — to trim
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. cold — an illness
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. chest — a box
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rest — what's left
  10. foot — a measure
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bore — to drill
  17. rest — a break
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bear — the animal
  24. chest — of your body

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