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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 116 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: hand · fine · prune · bowl · bore · court · cold · rash

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. fine — all right
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rash — a series
  17. court — for sport
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. fine — high quality
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bore — to tire
  24. prune — the fruit

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