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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: ground · clip · face · bore · rash · prune · jam · present

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. present — there
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. present — a gift
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. clip — to cut
  9. prune — to trim
  10. face — part of the head
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — a position
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. prune — to trim
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. present — the time now
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. face — to confront
  21. rash — a series
  22. ground — crushed
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bore — to tire

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