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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 120 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: court · hide · rest · wind · prune · mark · straw · bore

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bore — to tire
  3. rest — what's left
  4. court — of law
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. bore — to drill
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. rest — what's left
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mark — a grade
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. court — for sport
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mark — a trace
  19. rest — a break
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wind — moving air
  24. court — of a king

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