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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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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: bore · mine · rock · prune · chair · rule · net · present

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. present — the time now
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a leader
  5. net — after costs
  6. present — a gift
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — a stone
  9. net — in sport
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — a law
  13. present — there
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rule — government
  20. bore — to tire
  21. mine — for digging
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. net — for catching

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