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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 120 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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bore — to tire
  3. lean — to bend
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wound — an injury
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. lean — thin
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. drill — a practice
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. band — a ring
  18. bore — to drill
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fall — the season
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. band — a music group
  24. coach — a trainer

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