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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.

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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: pitcher · bore · date · hand · roll · cell · prune · lie

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cell — in biology
  10. roll — a list
  11. lie — to recline
  12. bore — to tire
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. bore — to drill
  17. hand — in cards
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. roll — a cake
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. hand — help
  24. bore — gave birth

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