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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. land — ground
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. scale — in music
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. prune — to trim
  21. drill — army training
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. scale — size or range
  24. patient — a sick person

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