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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.

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: bore · scale · bay · prune · drill · row · wound · hide

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. prune — to trim
  5. row — a line
  6. wound — an injury
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. drill — the tool
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. drill — army training
  12. bore — to tire
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. scale — in music
  16. drill — a practice
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wound — an injury
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bore — to drill
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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