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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 · tear · spell · march · game · net · prune · rush

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. prune — to trim
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. net — in sport
  6. tear — from crying
  7. game — a match
  8. march — the month
  9. net — after costs
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spell — magic
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. spell — letters
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. tear — to rip
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bore — to tire
  20. net — for catching
  21. prune — to trim
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. game — a kind of play

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