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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. spring — of water
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. prune — to trim
  5. drill — a practice
  6. saw — the tool
  7. drill — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bulb — for light
  10. spring — the season
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bulb — for light
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. prune — to trim
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. spring — a coil
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. drill — army training
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. sharp — exactly

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