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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: cold · prune · content · saw · bore · cue · row · calf

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cue — for pool
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cue — a signal
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. prune — to trim
  9. content — the amount
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bore — to tire
  12. cold — not warm
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cold — an illness
  15. content — happy
  16. saw — the tool
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. row — a line
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cue — a hint
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. prune — to trim

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