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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: row · bore · net · chair · jam · prune · face · wake

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. prune — to trim
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. wake — a trail
  8. net — after costs
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bore — to tire
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bore — to drill
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. row — a line
  17. net — in sport
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. chair — a leader
  21. net — for catching
  22. prune — to trim
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. chair — a professorship

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