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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: date · present · bore · wind · prune · land · game · nail

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. bore — to drill
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. present — there
  6. prune — to trim
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. present — a gift
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. game — wild animals
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. present — the time now
  13. date — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. wind — moving air
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bore — to tire
  21. land — to come down
  22. wind — moving air
  23. prune — the fruit
  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