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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
468
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: prune · pit · straw · bore · clip · season · toast · game

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — a hole
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. toast — bread
  7. game — a match
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bore — to drill
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. clip — to cut
  13. season — in sport
  14. game — wild animals
  15. clip — for paper
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. clip — a video
  21. season — of the year
  22. pit — in a race
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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