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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. field — farmland
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. drill — army training
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. perch — the fish
  7. season — in sport
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. drill — a practice
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. band — a ring
  12. mine — for digging
  13. row — a line
  14. field — for sport
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. season — of the year
  18. band — a music group
  19. prune — to trim
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. row — to paddle
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. field — a subject
  24. prune — to trim

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